Proposal to fix water tanker fees in Oman

Muscat: After detecting several cases where water tanker owners were found charging exorbitantly, a move to control the business and set a fixed fee for water tankers might take place in the future.
A joint session among the Muscat Municipal Council, the Public Authority for Electricity and Water Authority (PAEW), the Public Authority for Consumer Protection (PACP) and the Royal Oman Police (ROP) took place recently to deliberate on regulations to control the water tanker market.
“The council discussed the issue taking into consideration a study, which was conducted by PAEW. The members believe that imposing a fixed fee for water tankers is becoming necessary. Yes, the fee is fixed now by PAEW, but there is no clear rule or regulation stating that,” said Qais Al Mashari, a Muscat Municipal Council member. He added that the PAEW study had come out with good results and it’s important to impose a rule based on the study.
The study conducted by PAEW suggested the need for water tanker businesses to be licensed by PAEW. It also suggested that the business should be exclusive for nationals and fees should be based on the tanker capacity and the location of consumers.
The issue was also discussed during the ninth meeting for this year held by the Public Affairs Committee at the Muscat Municipal Council. The meeting addressed several issues, including fixing the price of water tanker. “The suggestion was raised to the council and once approved the council will address the concerned authorities,” said Al Mashari.
Earlier this year, PAEW had explained in a statement that the current approved price for the water tankers’ owner is 1 baiza per gallon for tankers less than 700 gallons and 3 baisas per gallon for water tankers more than 700 gallons.
The selling price for a 650 gallon-water tanker is thus 650 baisas and for the 1,000 gallon-tanker is OMR3.
The statement followed news circulated by social network users about the increase in water prices after the recent hike in fuel prices.
However, PAEW said it is not involved in fixing the water selling price by water tanker owners to house owners and consumers.