Tirana municipality approves 30% water price rise, DP opposes move

Tirana’s municipal council decided to increase the price of water furnished by the water supply system of the Albanian capital.

For household customers 1 m3 of water will cost ALL 65, from ALL 45 per m3 that was the previous price.

While for businesses, the price will rise from ALL 135 to ALL 190 per m3.

Tirana municipality justified the growth with the need to invest in the water supply system, setting the goal of having 24 hours water supply in the next five years.

According to the Mayor, the added cost on the water bill will eliminate a range of other costs like purchasing drinking water bottles, those for the maintenance of deposits, as well as providing safe water.

“We will invest 220 million euros in the next five years. With the current system, this is the first year that the water supply company concludes a year with profits, at 5 million euros. With this pace it takes 44 years. Now we can do it for 5 years,” Veliaj claimed.

Among the investments expected to be carried out during this period are:

10 million euros for the Guri i Bardhe source near Burrel

An investment for water processing and filtration in Boville

50m euros will be invested in the transmission system

50 million euros will be invested in the distribution network

The decision passed with some amendments proposed by the PDIU, which requested that households subsisting on pensions and economic assistance should be removed from the price rise scheme.

The opposition DP blamed for the decision the Socialist Movement for Integration, whose advisers participated in the vote.

Before the vote, the chairman of the DP group, Leonard Olli, called on SMI councilors to leave the council meeting.

According to him, if the SMI wants to confirm the commitment to oppose the current government along with the Democratic Party, they had to prove it right now.

SCAN

*Material i përgatitur nga portali SCAN. Ripublikimi mund të bëhet vetëm kundrejt citimit të autorësisë dhe burimit origjinal.