Bishkek City Council approves nearly 50% increase in water tariffs

The Bishkek City Council has approved a resolution to increase tariffs for water supply and sanitation services, raising the price by nearly 50 percent. The new single tariff will be 15.73 soms per cubic meter for water supply and 6.8 soms for water disposal (sewage).

Currently, the tariff for the population is 10.45 soms per cubic meter of water and 3.45 soms for sewerage. The resolution also introduces increased coefficients for certain consumer categories, including commercial entities, to stimulate rational water use and compensate for infrastructure load from profit-making activities.

According to City Hall, a significant portion of the engineering networks were built during the Soviet era and are now operated with a high level of physical wear and tear. The existing capacities and networks are working at their limit due to the intensive growth of the city's population and increasing load on infrastructure.

Officials stated that the current tariffs do not cover the actual costs of the municipal enterprise Bishkekvodokanal. The resolution aims to establish economically feasible tariffs, ensure coverage of actual costs, eliminate unprofitability, and guarantee the reliable and uninterrupted operation of the engineering infrastructure.