Water in Asian cities : utilities' performance and civil society views

This publication is about the performance of water supply and sanitation in 18 Asian cities and about what civil society sees as its role in improving water services in these cities. This 3rd ADB performance data publication is a following on from the Water Utilities Data Books published by ADB in 1993 and 1997.
It is designed for easy assessment of the strength, weakness and potential of utilities and group utilities. The performance data comprise essential benchmarking indicators on service level, service quality, operational efficiency and financial management. Also included are broader performance dimensions including water resources management, policy and regulation, private sector participation, small-scale service providers, wastewater and sanitation and urban floods management.
Although water utilities perform slightly better than in 1997 and only in certain limited aspects, customer satisfaction is up and water resources management has improved. But gains in service coverage and non-revenue water are minimal. Overall financial management seems to have worsened. Revenues from tariffs are still not able to cover operations and maintenance costs, let alone financing costs and capital expenditure.
The findings of the study were discussed at a regional consultation workshop, held at the ADB headquarters, Manila in October 2002. The proceedings and a summary of the civil society's views are also included in this publication. Case studies from Chengdu, Colombo, Delhi, Dhaka, Ho Chi Minh City, Hong Kong, Jakarta, Karachi, Kathmandu, Kuala Lumpur, Manila, Osaka, Phnom Penh, Seoul, Shanghai, Tashkent, Ulaanbaatar, and Vientiane are presented.