Businesses and householders can look forward to cheaper water bills starting in July which will see the launch of a six-month subsidy.
Macao Water Executive Director Nacky Kuan Sio Peng said around 230,000 residential units will benefit with a maximum of MOP 100 per month while around 30,000 business establishments will be granted MOP 500 a month.
Kuan said that although the water subsidy scheme will last for six months, customers can use the money for 12 months, which means they can use the subsidies until 30 June next year, if the amount has not been used up within the designated period. The subsidies are not applicable to water supply contracts with casinos, three-, four- and five-star hotels or government entities.
Asked about the number of the buildings that have signed up for the Subsidy Programme for Repairing Service Connections of Low-Rise Buildings, Kuan said that 250 buildings have joined the programme, the repairs on over 100 of which have already been completed, comprising 14,500 units that will benefit, adding that the programme will run for three years so as to improve the water facilities in the city’s low-rise buildings while minimising any inconvenience to the units’ residents.
According to the programme, buildings older than 20 years and low-rise condominiums of up to seven floors, or Macao Water-approved emergency cases, will be offered the chance to have their water facilities replaced free of charge. However, customers can take the initiative to contact Macao Water in order to request the replacement.
Asked about Macao Water’s plans for the rest of the year, Kuan replied that the company will focus on facility maintenance, such as its programme of installing new water meters, adding that plumbing improvements will be carried out in the old quarters in the peninsula, Taipa and Coloane, The Macau Post Daily reported.
