With the start of the camping season next Tuesday, Nov 15, the sale of water is in high demand and the suppliers have taken advantage of the situation and increased the prices of water tanks significantly.
Despite the fact that there is a fixed price, a local Arabic daily during a tour of the camping areas discovered water is being sold for more than twice as much, as the price of 3,000 gallons ranged around 6 dinars for areas adjacent to the filling stations and 12 dinars in remote areas.
The prices of water tanks with a capacity of 5,000 gallons ranged between 8 and 15 dinars, depending on the region. A number of tankers drivers justified the rise in prices saying they deal with customers directly, that the matter differs whether the consumer lives in the area near the water station or is far from it, as well as according to the building floors.
They indicated that the price of a 3,000-gallon tank sometimes costs 15 dinars if the water has to be pumped as high as 10 floors or more.
In the same context, well-informed sources in the Ministry of Electricity and Water warned of this black market for the sale of water, which becomes active during the spring and camping period, calling on the Ministry of Commerce to confront this phenomenon.
The MEW sources said there is a fixed price for selling water which is 500 fils per thousand gallons, to which one dinars is added when selling it to the consumer according to the tariff set by the Ministry of Commerce, which means that the profit margin for the owners of tankers is one dinar per thousand gallons.
The sources indicated that accordingly, the total price of 3,000-gallon tanks becomes 4.5 dinars, but some owners raise the cost to 10 dinars, and it increases during the camping season, calling on those affected to file a complaint with the Ministry of Commerce by calling 135.
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