WATER supply revenues increased in 2008 to US$20 million from $17 million the previous year after a 15 percent increase in sales, Ek Sonn Chan, director general of Phnom Penh Water Supply Authority (PPWSA), said last week.

The municipality sold 85 million cubic metres of water in 2008, up from 72 million cubic metres the year before following the improvement of the capital's water-pipeline infrastructure, Ek Sonn Chan said, adding that water sales would likely continue to rise.

"Our revenue has increased every year because we have increased water connections by more than 100,000 every year," he said. "In 2009, we will start treating water at a new supply station in Chroy Changvar, which can produce 65,000 additional cubic metres of water per day."

Water prices have remained stable at about $0.24 a cubic metre, while 90 percent of Phnom Penh families have access to water, he said.

The PPWSA has worked with development partners to enlarge capacity, he added. By the end of 2009, the authority says it will be able to produce 235,000 cubic metres of clean water per day for 178,200 families.