Water Whirl
Does Singapore have what it takes to be a global hydrohub? Judging by the turnout at the inaugural Singapore International Water Week held from 23 – 27 June 2008 at the Suntec Singapore International Convention and Exhibition Centre, it appears Singapore is on its way.
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong (centre) officiated the opening of the Singapore International Water Week, held concurrently with the World Cities Summit and the East Asia Summit Conference on Liveable Cities. With him are (from left) Dr Yaacob Ibrahim, Minister for the Environment and Water Resources, Mr Mah Bow Tan, Minister for National Development, and Mrs Cheong Koon Hean, Chief Executive Officer of Urban Redevelopment Authority.
The numbers speak for themselves: 8,500 delegates representing governments, utilities providers, businesses and academia from nearly 80 countries. Agreements totalling more than S$367 million signed. And, the launch of a water fund to attract S$435 million in investments in Asian water projects.
These were clearly reasons to celebrate when the inaugural Singapore International Water Week drew to a close after five days of stimulating discussions and exchanges. Organised by the Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources and PUB, Singapore’s national water agency, the Singapore International Water Week was conceived as the global platform for water solutions that would bring together policymakers, industry leaders, experts and practitioners to address challenges, showcase technologies, discover opportunities and celebrate achievements in the water world.
Delegates at the Singapore International Water Week were brought on technical tours of the Marina Barrage and the NEWater Visitor Centre.
Held concurrently with the World Cities Summit and the East Asia Summit Conference on Liveable Cities, a joint opening ceremony for all three events was officiated by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.
A star-studded cast comprising the who’s who of the water industry attended the Water Week, including HE Yoshiro Mori, President of the Asia-Pacific Water Forum and Japan Water Forum; HE Dr Rashid Ahmad Bin Fahad, Environment and Water Minister for the United Arab Emirates; Mr Haruhiko Kuroda, President of the Asian Development Bank; Mr John Rice, Vice-Chairman of General Electric Company, and Mr Len Rodman, Chairman, President & CEO of Black & Veatch.
The Water Expo, a major water trade show focusing on innovations, products and services, attracted more than 350 participating companies from 40 countries.
Recognising the significance of the Singapore International Water Week, important industry players are in full support of the event. The founding sponsors include industry players such as Asahi Kasei, Black & Veatch, CDM, CH2MHill, Dayen Environment, Dow Water Solutions, Hyflux, Keppel Corporation, Salcon Pte Ltd, SembCorp Industries Ltd, Siemens Water Technologies, SUEZ Environnement, United Engineers Ltd and Veolia Water Solutions & Technologies (SEA).
The Water Week organisers had a challenging task set out for them. The event had to stand out from other international water conventions. It had to have something for everyone. It would showcase Singapore’s efforts in turning its water challenges into an asset for the country. Most importantly, it would reveal to the world that Singapore has what it takes to be a global hydrohub. As such, the fiveday affair was packed with a plethora of events which was a mix of serious and fun, functional and glamorous.
HUB OF ACTIVITY
PUB inked new partnerships and agreements with water agencies in the Middle East. (From right) PUB Chief Executive Mr Khoo Teng Chye and Minister Yaacob Ibrahim share the spotlight with HE Fahmi Bin Ali Al-Jowder, Bahrain’s Minister of Works and Minister-in-Charge of Electricity and Water Authority, and Mr Khalifa E Al Mansoor, Assistant Undersecretary, Sanitary Engineering.
The theme of the inaugural Singapore International Water Week 2008 is ‘Sustainable Water Solutions for Cities’. With growing globalisation and urbanisation, good urban leadership is critical. Governments, corporations and industries need to address water issues faced by cities collectively. This can be done through sustainable and effective implementation of water infrastructure, continued research and innovation.
“We chose this theme because more than half of the world’s population will be living in cities by 2008, which makes the need for sustainable water solutions more important than ever. Technology can help overcome many water challenges and continuous research and development work in water technologies is necessary to find new sustainable solutions to solve the world’s water problems,” said Mr Khoo Teng Chye, PUB’s Chief Executive.
PUB signed an agreement with the Indian state of Maharashtra to minimise water wastage and improve infrastructure.
PUB’s award-winning, holistic water-management system puts Singapore in a position to contribute to water solutions globally. Added Mr Khoo: “This is an unprecedented meeting of minds and shows the priority and urgency which water issues hold on the global agenda. For Singapore, this is a rare opportunity — for a little blue dot to share with the world the way we have tackled our own water challenges, and together with partner countries, to forge new ways forward.”
The highlight of the Water Week is the Lee Kuan Yew Water Prize, a prestigious international water award to honour an individual or an organisation for outstanding contribution towards solving the world’s water problems by applying innovative technologies, or implementing polices and programmes which benefit humanity. Dr Andrew Benedek, a successful researcher-turned-technopreneur was the first recipient of the Water Prize for his pioneering work in the development of low-pressure membranes in water treatment.
One of the signature events of the Water Week was the Water Leaders Summit, a high-level meeting of over 200 top policy-makers, ministers, mayors, leading academics, captains of industry and international organisations.
Professor Tommy Koh, Chairman of the Water Leaders Summit, led a highlevel meeting of over 200 policy-makers, academics, captains of industry and international organisations.
Besides roundtable discussions on sustainable water issues, the summit also included a plenary forum on good governance in sustainable development chaired by Professor Tommy Koh, and the Singapore Water Lecture by Lee Kuan Yew Water Prize winner Dr Andrew Benedek.
Summing up the Water Leaders Summit, Professor Koh said that participants had shared a common vision to “make our cities sustainable, vibrant and liveable”. Cities should strive for a number of common goals, among them “safe drinking water, sustainable sanitation, clean air, a good living environment, the efficient use of natural resources, including water and energy, the protection and conservation of biodiversity, good jobs, safety, efficient transportation, affordable housing, a balance between the built environment and greenery, a balance between retaining a city’s history and heritage and modernity, a culture of tolerance and diversity, centres of learning, good food, vibrant culture and low or zero corruption”. The proceedings of the Water Leaders Summit are written up as a Blue Paper and will be presented at key international water events.
The Water Convention featured more than 100 presentations ranging from water technology solutions to the business of water. Dr Jamie Bartram of the World Health Organisation spoke on the global challenges of clean water supply.
Improvements in water-related technology were the order of the day at the Water Convention, which featured more than 100 presentations over three days by industry experts, practitioners, researchers and academics. Topics ranged from water technology solutions to cities of the future and the business of water. Participants like International Water Association (IWA) Executive Director Mr Paul Reiter discussed how a sustainable city should have an efficient and adaptable water supply that does not come at a prohibitive cost, and highlighted how Singapore is currently leading the way in this area. Other topics discussed included Australia’s water conservation efforts and dealing with the global challenges of producing a clean water supply.
The Water Expo took things a little further with a more hands-on approach. A three-day trade show, it shone the spotlight on water innovations, products, services, best practices and case studies. With six country pavilions featuring water technology achievements from China, Germany, Malaysia, The Netherlands, Japan and Singapore as the main draw, the Water Expo attracted a participation rate of 350 companies from 40 countries. A New Product/Innovation Corner gave exhibitors an avenue to launch new products and solutions. Deals worth US$1 million or more were concluded by exhibitors such as Hydranautics, Koch Membrane Systems, Nalco Pacific and EIMCO Water Technologies.
The Water Week also saw the beginning of several new partnerships and agreements. These were mostly inked at the Business Forums, which provided water industry players a platform for discovering opportunities in the key markets of China, India, Japan, Southeast Asia, Australia, Europe and the Middle East.
PUB signed Memoranda of Understanding (MOU) with three private firms. An agreement with French waste and water management company SUEZ nvironnement will see joint projects on filtration membranes, water recycling, water analytics and hydroinformatics. With Japan’s Teijin, PUB will undertake joint R&D on used water treatment, and with Singapore-based Optiqua Technologies, a collaboration on biosensor technology.
There were also bilateral agreements with water authorities in other countries. An MOU between the Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources and its counterpart in the United Arab Emirates will see cooperation on water research and management, environmental protection and sustainable development. MOUs with two Bahraini government agencies will see PUB providing consultancy and training services for sewerage and sanitary systems in the Kingdom, and undertaking joint projects in water management. In India, PUB will work with the Water Supply and Sanitation Board in the state of Maharashtra to minimise water wastage and improve infrastructure in Indian cities and towns.
Besides PUB, Singapore-based firms such as tech start-up AridTec also benefited. The company found distributors for its atmospheric water harvesting solutions, which produce water from the air, in more than 10 countries in the Middle East, Europe and the Asia-Pacific. The distribution deals are expected to reap more than S$16 million within the first year.
Further boosting the local water R&D scene were plans by two leading water companies to set up R&D centres in Singapore. Nitto Denko, a leading diversified materials manufacturer, became the first Japanese enterprise to set up a R&D centre here when its S$6 million water R&D centre opened in August 2008. Global infrastructure and environment firm CDM also announced it would open a Technical Centre for Integrated Water Management and Urban Planning in Singapore to promote the use of advanced planning and simulation models, decision software and geospatial information systems in the management of urban environments. Singapore will also be setting up the Institute of Water Policy, under the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, to complement the investments in water R&D and the expanding water industry cluster here in Singapore.
SPLASH OF ENTERTAINMENT
Hydro Sapiens by Dutch theatre group The Lunatics was an exciting exploration of water themes.
It wasn’t all high-level business at the Water Week. Delegates mixed, mingled and learnt more about Singapore in a series of complementary social events that spanned the arts, music, science and sports realms. Kicking things off with a resounding beat was Tan Dun with the Singapore Festival Orchestra, a specially organised concert helmed by composer-conductor Tan Dun that bridged Eastern and Western music traditions.
Activities like waterski performances were organised as part of the Water Festival.
The first part of the concert featured the Water Concerto, originally commissioned for the New York Philharmonic. Performed by the Singapore Festival Orchestra, the unusual melody was created through the use of numerous unique instruments, including hemispherical transparent water basins, water bottles, water tubes, water drums and water agogo bells. The Crouching Tiger Concerto, in the second half of the concert, was a re-creation of Tan Dun’s original score for the martial-arts movie, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. A concert work for erhu, chamber orchestra and film, it is in six movements with erhu cadenzas connecting the orchestral movements.
Acclaimed composer-conducter Tan Dun treated audiences to the unique Water and Crouching Tiger Concerto.
Water was also the main highlight in two arts performances staged by the Singapore Arts Festival at Singapore’s waterways in conjunction with the Water Week. The Festival opened with French street theatre company Ilotopie’s Water Fools, an aquatic extravaganza involving fireworks and giant mechanical sets on the Singapore River at Boat Quay while the Closing Celebrations of the Festival featured the world premiere of Hydro Sapiens by Dutch theatre group, The Lunatics, at Bedok Reservoir.
A series of water activities such as waterski performances, banana boat rides, kayaking and dragonboating were organised as part of the Water Festival to encourage international visitors and Singaporeans to enjoy the wide range of water activities and explore the scenic water spots.
Over at the Science Centre Singapore, the Water: H20 = Life exhibition aimed to uncover the mysteries of water and show how it shapes ecosystems around the world. The exhibition was curated by the American Museum of Natural History in New York and the Science Museum of Minnesota, St Paul, in collaboration with PUB and Science Centre Singapore.
ON THE FRINGE
More than 40 international high-level meetings, forums, award ceremonies and workshops were held on the sidelines of Singapore International Water Week 2008.
For the first time in Singapore, the World Health Organisation (WHO) held its international meeting on the fourth edition of the WHO guidelines on drinking water quality from 19 – 23 June 2008.
The Global Water Research Coalition (GWRC) held their twice-yearly Board of Directors Meeting for the first time in Singapore from 22 – 23 June 2008. Fifteen leading water research organisations in the world met for an update on projects in progress and to discuss new research ideas.
To celebrate excellence and innovation in water engineering projects, the IWA announced its East Asia and Pacific Regional Project Innovation Awards in Singapore on 26 June 2008. All winners and honor award recipients automatically qualify for the Global Project Innovation Awards which will be held during the IWA World Water Congress in Vienna, Austria, where they will compete against winners from the European and North American regions.
Senior Parliamentary Secretary, Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources, Dr Amy Khor with finalists of the Singapore Junior Water Prize.
PUB’s Deep Tunnel Sewerage System, a superhighway for used water management was the winner in the Planning Projects category for the East Asia and Pacific Regional Awards and went on to win in the Global Project Innovation Awards.
The inaugural Singapore Junior Water Prize 2008 saw 112 teams of students between the ages of 15 and 20 vie against one another to come up with innovative water solutions. The winning team from the NUS High School of Mathematics and Science, which came up with a cost-effective method for water desalination, represented Singapore at the international Stockholm Junior Water Prize in August 2008.
The next Singapore International Water Week will be held from 22 – 26 June 2009.
