Bucharest residents to pay more for water as tariffs increase by 0.85 lei per cubic meter

Residents of Bucharest will soon face higher water bills following the approval of a tariff increase by the General Council of Bucharest. The change, stemming from a modified concession contract between the City Hall and water provider Apa Nova, will see the price rise by 0.85 lei per cubic meter.

This tariff hike is directly linked to an ambitious investment program designed to overhaul the city's aging water and sewage infrastructure. Estimated at nearly 500 million euros, the multi-year project will span all six sectors of the capital and involve work on approximately 221 kilometers of networks.

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The Bucharest wastewater system needs to be expanded, it can no longer cope. You saw what happened during the last serious rain, when the Carol Park area was already flooded. Money is needed for the future, to make these investments.

The plan includes replacing aging pipes and constructing retention basins and pumping stations to better manage heavy rainfall, a growing concern due to climate change and urban development. Mayor Ciprian Ciucu highlighted that the existing system is struggling to cope with the city's expansion and the increasing pressure from extreme weather events.

Ciucu defended the price increase, noting that Bucharest currently has one of the lowest water tariffs in Romania. He estimated the additional cost for an average family would be around 28 lei per month, a price he deemed supportable given the long-term benefits of the infrastructure upgrades. He cautioned that the full effects of these investments would not be immediate, as the project is currently in the feasibility study and design phases.

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In this moment, the tariff we are applying is the second lowest in the country, and the increase calculated at the family level is around 28 lei. It is not an increase that cannot be borne, but the benefits, through the financing of this investment program, are essential.