Public private partnership for improving water supply based on willingness and affordability to pay : a case study of Yangon, Myanmar | |
| Author | Sein Htike Thu |
| Call Number | AIT Thesis no.UE-05-15 |
| Subject(s) | Water-supply--Myanmar--Yangon Public-private sector cooperation--Myanmar--Yangon |
| Note | A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science, School of Environment, Resources and Development |
| Publisher | Asian Institute of Technology |
| Abstract | Water supply is one of the basic urban services that need to reach every household in the urban areas. Particularly in developing countries, as it is in Yangon, Myanmar, the provision of water supply system is still traditionally owned and managed by the public authority which tends to be ineffective and unsustainable model to meet the increasing water demand in the city. The Yangon City Development Committee (YCDC) is the main responsible body to distribute water throughout the city but cannot provide all the funds needed to service as the internally generated revenue is a small fraction of the needed capital and the pricing mechanism is poorly organized. PPP seem to have potential to improve the efficiency and sustainability of the water service. This way private sector can be counted upon to fund the capital investment. It is also a good for proper management. However, to protect the consumer interest and setting tariff need to be determined consumers willingness and affordability to pay (W&ATP) level. With the above in view, the study aimed to look into the PPP approach, based on peoples W&ATP for improving the water supply provision. It also explores the institutional and financial arrangements of concerned agencies particularly with respect to some projects that YCDC has been currently implementing. The study analyzes the willingness and affordability of the people to pay for improved quality of water supply in the two study areas- Hlaingthaya (HTY) and Shwepyitha (SPT) townships in Yangon. The results of the study reveal that the willingness to pay which people are prepared to pay for improving water supply varies by household characteristics such as their income, savings, gender, age, educational background and water characteristics quality of using water and reliability of water sources. Willingness to pay for connection fee and monthly water charge determined by contingent valuation method (CVM) yield following results: (1) WTP for connection fee is respectively 50.0% and 32.0% of household income in HTY and SPT; (2) WTP for monthly water charge is respectively 3.5% in HTY and 3.3% of household income in SPT. On affordability to pay, the results are: (1) ATP for connection fee is 90.0% of household income in HTY and 84.0% in SPT; (2) ATP for monthly charge is 3.4% and 3.2% of household income respectively in HTY and SPT. Overall, WTP and ATP for monthly water charges are similar in both study areas, standing on a ratio of 3-5% of total income, which seem to be reasonable benchmark. The Study finally recommends an operational model which involves reforming of public authority to activate private groups with specification of all stakeholders role (government/municipal body, local and foreign investors and customers) and functions (capital costs, revenue and tariffs) to achieve an improved urban water service. The suggested PPP model is expected to contribute in mobilization of financial resource, to minimize per unit cost from scale economies and setting of tariffs must be within consumers W&ATP level to meet the demand for urban dwellers. |
| Year | 2005 |
| Type | Thesis |
| School | School of Environment, Resources, and Development (SERD) |
| Department | Department of Development and Sustainability (DDS) |
| Academic Program/FoS | Urban Environmental and Management (UE) |
| Chairperson(s) | Amin, A. T. M. Nurul |
| Examination Committee(s) | Vilas Nitivattananon;Thammarat Koottatep |
| Scholarship Donor(s) | Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) |
| Degree | Thesis (M.Sc.) - Asian Institute of Technology, 2005 |