Macao Water wants higher subsidy to be sustainable

Macao Water achieved “hard-won better financial performance” during 2014, according to the company’s executive director, Felix Fan.  The company’s profit after tax totaled MOP58 million, but this result is considered insufficient to face the city’s rapid economic development and increasing inflation. Hence, Macao Water is once again applying for a water resources fee increase of 11 percent.
“In the past two years, we have applied for a fee increase, but the government always gave us a small percentage [of that which was requested] below the inflation rate, in order to satisfy the public. Every time we ask for an increase, we only get a minor adjustment. This is not enough to make Macao Water sustainable,” the executive director said yesterday during a media luncheon, which marked the 80th anniversary of the modernization of the local water supply. During his speech, Fan mentioned the case of the bankrupted bus operator Reolian (which claimed to be affected by the government’s refusal to pay for a contractual annual adjustment of the fees related to inflation and annual increase of costs of operation) to illustrate the difficulties faced by public service providers. “Some operators have left the market disappointed,” he observed.
Reviewing the work done in 2014, the executive director mentioned that Macao Water “overcame a lot of difficulties” in order to make progress on the Main Storage Reservoir Water Treatment Plant III (MSR III) expansion works, after the project was suspended several times. The MSR III is expected to be completed this year, and will increase the region’s daily water supply capacity. The complex aims, in particular, to meet the greater water demands that will be caused by the upcoming operations conducted by the new large-scale entertainment facilities and hotels in the Cotai area.
In addition to the MSR III project, Macao Water is currently designing the Seac Pai Van Water Treatment Plant and its supporting water supply network. Felix Fan stressed that “all these efforts make up the important measures to ensure the water supply safety of Macau.” PB

round-the-clock border may affect revenue

The economic slowdown plus the 24-hour border-crossing policy will probably slacken the increase in water consumption, and could even lead to a decrease, according to the company’s estimations. “In either case, it will bring uncertainty to Macao Water over the company’s financial performance,” Felix Fan said. “In the water bill for April and May, we will see if the 24-hour border has had an impact or not,” he added.