KUWAIT CITY, 17 March 2004 — Kuwaiti lawmakers slammed the government yesterday for introducing water rationing to the emirate’s 2.5 million population and cautioned it against increasing the price of the heavily-subsidized resource.

Rationing began a few days ago after the government said consumption had far exceeded production of desalinated water which provides more than 90 percent of water supplies.

The criticism came in a special session held by the Parliament to review government contingency plans to face more serious shortages expected in the hot summer months when temperatures climb above 50 degrees Celsius (122 degrees Fahrenheit).

Energy Minister Sheikh Ahmad Fahd Al-Sabah said the emirate was facing a water crisis because of a delay in new water desalination projects and rising consumption.

Ministry officials told MPs that the emirate’s average daily production of 305 million imperial gallons (1.4 million liters) will not increase in the next two years while consumption will go up.

Average daily production this year will be 16 million gallons (72.8 million liters) short of consumption. The shortage will be above 30 million gallons (136.4 million liters) next year and as high as 53 million gallons (241 million liters) in 2006.

The minister said Kuwait’s per capita water consumption is the highest in the world. It increased from an average of 45.3 gallons (206 liters) in 1979 to 111 gallons (504.6 liters) in 2003. He said the first new water desalination plant will not start operation before three years.

Kuwait, with a cradle-to-grave welfare system, sells water at a heavily-subsidized price to both citizens, who number 900,000, and foreigners.

Last year, the government spent some 238 million dinars (about $800 million) in water subsidies.

During the debate Prime Minister Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah urged MPs to support a government plan to raise prices for big consumers in a bid to rationalize consumption.

But MPs accused the government of creating the water crisis in a bid to raise its charges. “There are other goals behind the current crisis. ... The talk about increasing water and power charges is totally rejected,” MP Ahmad Al-Mulaifi said.

Kuwait had approved a multibillion-dollar project to pump fresh water to the emirate through a pipeline from Iran, but Sheikh Ahmad said the project would take years to materialize.