Towards A Global Hydrohub
PUB Chief Executive Mr Khoo Teng Chye at the Marina Barrage, PUB’s latest engineering showpiece.
It has been a watershed year for us, packed with plenty of action.
The highlight was the inaugural Singapore International Water Week 2008, which saw more than 8,500 delegates and trade visitors from nearly 80 countries convene in Singapore to address challenges, showcase technologies, discover opportunities and celebrate achievements in the water world.
Thanks to the hard work and support of our local and international partners and the water industry, the event was given a thumbs-up for its wide-ranging content targeting water professionals of all levels.
Agreements totalling more than S$367 million were signed between governments, water authorities and private companies during the week.
At the Water Week’s opening ceremony, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong announced plans to set up an Institute of Water Policy to research water policy and governance in Asia. This will complement the investments in water R&D and the expanding water industry cluster here.
The highlight of the Water Week is the Lee Kuan Yew Water Prize, a prestigious international water prize to honour outstanding contributions in solving the world’s water woes. Water researcher and technopreneur, Dr Andrew Benedek, became the first Water Prize recipient for his pioneering work in the development of low-pressure membranes.
The Water Leaders Summit, one of the signature events under the Water Week, saw the congregation of more than 200 water leaders from around the world to participate in high-level discussions of water issues while the Water Convention provided a platform for water specialists and researchers to showcase the latest advances in water technologies.
The Water Expo, a trade show that brought together more than 350 participating companies from 40 countries, offered excellent opportunities for business networking and announcing new product launches.
Singapore’s R&D sector was given an added boost with leading international water companies Nitto Denko and CDM announcing plans to set up a water R&D centre and Technical Centre for Integrated Water Management and Urban Planning in Singapore, respectively.
PUB also inked several R&D agreements with top global water players France’s SUEZ Environment, Japan’s Teijin and Singapore-based Optiqua Technologies. Bilateral partnerships were forged with two Bahraini government agencies and the Water Supply and Sanitation Board in the Indian state of Maharashtra. PUB’s parent ministry, the Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources, also signed an MOU with its counterpart in the United Arab Emirates.
This is indeed good news for Singapore where water is poised to become one of the country’s key growth sectors, with R&D being the main driver. With the Singapore International Water Week, a global platform for water solutions, we are certainly one step closer in our ambition to develop the thriving water industry into a wellspring of water solutions.
Adding to the buzz of the Singapore International Water Week, PUB’s water management and community outreach efforts also saw some key developments during the year.
Following our win at the 2006 Global Water Awards for Water Agency of the Year, NEWater was named Environmental Contribution of the Year at the 2008 Global Water Awards. The award bears testimony to the success of NEWater as a viable and sustainable source of water, and is doubly significant as we celebrate the fifth anniversary of NEWater this year.
Demand for NEWater has exceeded our expectations and we are currently ramping up the capacities of our existing plants and building the fifth and largest plant at Changi. When it is completed in 2010, the combined capacity of all five plants will be able to meet 30 per cent of Singapore’s water needs, double the original target.
The Deep Tunnel Sewerage System (DTSS), our superhighway for used water management, won the global award in the Planning Projects category of the International Water Association’s Project Innovation Awards 2008.
Slated for completion next year, the DTSS will signal the beginning of a new chapter in Singapore’s used water management. As part of the transition to DTSS, we closed the doors on PUB’s oldest water reclamation plant at Kim Chuan in February.
Singapore’s 15th reservoir and our first reservoir in the city, created by building a dam across the Marina Channel, will soon be ready. Besides enhancing water supply and providing flood control, the freshwater lake will be transformed into a new lifestyle attraction right in the heart of Singapore’s city centre.
In the area of community outreach, PUB went from bland to glam, winning recognition for its efforts to bring water issues to the man in the street. Besides winning the Excellence Award for Outstanding Overall Corporate Reputation Enhancement Programme at the biennial PRISM Awards locally, PUB also won the 2008 Golden World Awards for Excellence in Public Relations for its corporate communications programme, and the overall Grand Prize in the awards ceremony, one of the highest accolades in the international public relations community.
PUB’s very own free street magazine, PURE, celebrated its first anniversary on World Water Day this year with a yoga session for PURE readers and Friends of Water by the serene waters of Upper Peirce Reservoir. Designed as a hip, glossy lifestyle magazine to interest the young in water issues, PURE was an instant hit with its readers and a finalist in the Publications category of the Golden World Awards for Excellence in Public Relations.
Sustained public education in NEWater continued to be a focus in our community engagement programme. Bottled NEWater which we have been distributing for public sampling since 2003 reached a milestone this year with the production of the 10 millionth NEWater bottle, signifying the confidence and trust the public has in NEWater.
At the inaugural Watermark Award last year, we honoured nine Friends of Water who have made extraordinary contributions to the water cause. Today, we have a thriving circle of more than 1,800 Friends who share the same passion. Also joining our growing stable of 56 water adopters is media conglomerate Mediacorp Pte Ltd, who has come forward to pledge its support for MacRitchie Reservoir.
We will need more of such like-minded spirits to care for our waters as we work towards transforming Singapore’s utilitarian drains, canals and reservoirs into vibrant waterways brimming with beauty and life. Under the Active, Beautiful, Clean Waters (ABC Waters) programme, we aim to integrate our waterbodies with the green spaces, creating a City of Gardens and Water, a vision outlined by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.
In April, the ABC Waters programme reached a milestone with the completion of its first waterfront project at Kolam Ayer. The makeover has given the 200m stretch of Kallang River at Kolam Ayer a new lease of life, and it is now a bustling community hotspot.
Up next, residents in Sengkang can look forward to a tutti-frutti waterscape when the floating island in the new Punggol Reservoir is completed in 2010. This will be integrated with the nearby Anchorvale Community Club and Sengkang Fruit Park, creating waterfront living right at the doorstep and enhancing the quality of life in Sengkang.
More than 20 ABC Waters projects are in the pipeline for the next five years. Work has started on two projects at Lower Seletar Reservoir this year and seven other projects islandwide will be progressively developed in the next year.
On the organisational excellence front, PUB also got down to action, winning
several awards. We were one of three public service organisations to receive
the May Day Model Workers Award — Company Commendation from NTUC for our
contributions
and support of tripartite efforts. As a testament to our commitment to organisational
excellence, we were also conferred the Distinguished Public Service Award
early this year. The Pinnacle Award, the highest honour given by the Community
Chest, was
presented to us for our corporate social responsibility efforts.
These awards are important as they demonstrate our continuous commitment to developing the organisation and our people even as we forge ahead in our goal to develop Singapore into a thriving hub for water R&D.
This year’s Singapore International Water Week is a major step in our global hydrohub pursuit, bringing our aspirations to a higher level. As we gear up for 2009, we aim to present another exciting show for the international water circle. Next year,we will delve into the nuts and bolts of ‘Sustainable Cities — Infrastructure and Technologies for Water’, the theme for Water Week 2009. This theme is also timely with NEWater, our very own brand of reclaimed water, making waves internationally and key projects like the Marina Barrage and DTSS on track for completion.
Marina Barrage is perhaps one of the best examples of how we have integrated
our water solutions with the growing needs and expectations of modern city
living. The vision of Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew 20 years ago, this showcase
of urban water
sustainability has been attracting interest worldwide and more recently,
it was featured on Discovery Channel’s ‘Man-Made Marvels Asia’ series.
We are ready to unveil this much-awaited engineering gem to the world. Watch this space closely for further developments.
