Water users face rates hike to bail out supply company

GUANGZHOU - Consumers in the provincial capital of Guangdong are facing a large hike in water rates because their water supplier is heavily in debt.

Accounts published by the Guangzhou Water Supply Company on Tuesday showed that it was deep in the red.

As well as increased operating costs, the company said it had invested more than 1.73 billion yuan ($274.5 million) and borrowed 6.8 billion yuan in bank loans to fund a project to divert water from the Xijiang River, the main branch of the Pearl River, to the city's waterworks. This involved building new pipeline networks and upgrading infrastructure.