Think water, think Singapore

Singapore International Water Week will put the Republic on the global radar screen, reports
Chuang Peck Ming, Business Times 23 Jun 08;

THIS week will see more than 5,000 policy makers, industry leaders and experts descended upon Singapore to share - and celebrate - success stories in tackling one of the biggest problems urban cities face: not having enough safe drinking water.

The Singapore International Water Week is 'a global platform for water solutions' and the gathering of luminaries in the world of water will 'address challenges, showcase technologies, discover opportunities and celebrate their achievements', according to PUB, Singapore's national water agency and organiser of the mega event.

The theme for the Singapore International Water Week - Sustainable Water Solutions for Cities - reflects Singapore's wish 'that other cities also join us in developing and sustain water solutions for themselves', says Yaacob Ibrahim, Singapore's Minister for the Environment and Water Resources.

It's an apt and timely theme. Michael Toh, general manager of the Singapore International Week, notes the United Nations Population funds has estimated that more than 3.3 billion people will be urbanised by next year, rising to five billion in 2030. Asia's urban population alone will double to 2.6 billion between 2000 and 2030. Almost 700 million Asians have no access to safe drinking water; 1.5 billion of them have no access to basic sanitation.

'With growing globalisation and urbanisation, good urban leadership is critical,' Mr Toh says. 'Governments, corporations and industries need to address the water woes facing cities together through sustainable and effective implementation of water infrastructure and continued research and innovation.'

Sustainability is the key

Sustainability has become the new byword for leading-edge utilities. 'Current challenges expand from energy use membrane-based desalination and wastewater processes to the management of trace organics and micronutrients,' says David Garman, president of the International Waster Association.

'Further development in nanotechnology and biotechnology will lead to improved controls in water wastewater treatment, changes to operations and potentially better management of materials,' he adds.

The Singapore International Water Week will put Singapore on the global radar screen and help realise its dream to be a hydrohub. 'We want the world to automatically think 'Singapore' when they think water,' says PUB chairman Tan Gee Paw.

The event will offer Singapore an opportunity to showcase its success in water management. 'As a small island surrounded by water, Singapore's main water challenges are its lack of natural aquifers or groundwater, and an abundance of land to collect rainfall,' Mr Toh says. 'Despite these constraints, everyone in Singapore today has access to good clean, drinking water.'

Adds Cecilia Tortajada, an international water expert: 'By ensuring efficient use of its limited water resources through economic instruments, adopting the latest technological development to produce 'new' sources of water, enhancing storage capacities by proper catchment management, practising water conservation measures and ensuring concurrent consideration of social, economic and environmental factors, Singapore has reached a level of holistic water management that urban centres will do well to emulate.'

PUB attributes the success to its 'four national taps strategy', which has worked well. 'The result is a water supply that is not only diversified and robust, but also sustainable for generations to come,' it says.

Singapore is doing more than to ensure it has secured safe drinking water for the long haul. 'We have also rolled out a long-term programme called Active, Beautiful, Clean Waters - ABC Waters - which will transform Singapore into a city of gardens and water,' Mr Toh says. 'This programme is part of PUB's larger strategic objective to bring people closer to water so that they can better appreciate and cherish this precious water resource.'

Waters vision

The ABC Waters vision is to transform Singapore's 'well-engineered but utilatrian drains, canals and reservoirs into vibrant, beautiful and clean streams, rivers and lakes, making them a feature of Singapore's urban landscape and improving the quality of life'.

Integrated water management and investment in water technology has not only helped Singapore to beat its limitations and produce a sustainable water solution. They have also helped to grow a water industry that's adding to Singapore's vibrant water scene and its ambition to develop into a hub for water technology.

'Water has been identified as a key growth area and the government is investing $330 million in water R&D over the next five years, with the aim of tripling the value-added contribution from the water sector to $1.7 billion by 2015,' Mr Toh says.

'The goal is to groom Singapore as a hydrohub and, in that vein, major industry players such as GE Water, Siemens Water Technologies and Delft Hydraulics have been wooed to set up R&D centres on the island,' he says.

Homegrown water companies like Keppel Corporation and Hyflux, as well as universities, are also setting up water R&D centres.

The Singapore International Water Week will be a coming-out party of sorts for Singapore in its move to become a hydrohub.

Making Singapore a hydrohub
Singapore launches a multi-faceted exercise to anchor the growth of the water industry worldwide, reports
Chuang Peck Ming, Business Times 23 Jun 08;

STRATEGICALLY located, Singapore is within easy reach of several key cities in the Asia-Pacific. This makes it a good base for many activities in the region. And the government is encouraging this 'hub' role - because it brings jobs, money, know-how and reputation - by making Singapore efficient, business-friendly, safe as well as fun and comfortable to live in so that the key players are drawn here.

Singapore has become a hub not just for for multinational corporations, but also for activities such as education and healthcare. Now, it wants to be a 'hydrohub' as well - a centre for the water industry, water-related research and development and as a meeting point for the exchange of ideas, solutions and technologies relating to water. 'In short, we want the world to automatically think 'Singapore' when they think of 'water',' says Tan Gee Paw, chairman of the national water agency PUB.

Making Singapore a hydrohub helps to ensure it always has 'a sustainable, affordable and safe supply' of this strategic resource, he says. 'This means being on the lookout constantly for better technology and methods to manage our water. In the process, we can help the world with its water challenges too.'

Supply and management

The water industry is expanding worldwide - water supply and management is an issue for many countries - and Singapore wants to anchor some of that growth here. It is expected to provide a big boost to the local economy. 'We aim to double the jobs in the environment and water industry to 11,000 by 2015,' Mr Tan says in an interview for PUB's latest annual report. 'A large part of this growth will be in the professional and skilled categories. At the same time, we are targeting to triple the value-added from this sector, that is from a base of $0.5 billion (0.3% of gross domestic product) in 2003 to $1.7 billion (0.6% of GDP) by 2015.'

The local E&W industry is already going places. According to a recent survey of the industry - first of its kind commissioned by the E&W Industry Development Council (EWI), International Enterprise Singapore and the Economic Development Board - has been expanding faster than the business worldwide. Total revenues grew at a compound annual growth rate of 24% from 2004 to 2006 to a new high of $2.3 billion, against the global CAGR of 5%. And two-thirds of the revenues came from overseas.

'Singapore environmental companies' expertise in areas such as design, R&D and systems integration and their ability to customise solutions to meet clients' needs are key elements of their success both locally and overseas,' IE Singapore said in a media release.

The splash Singapore's E&W companies made abroad inevitably draws global money and talent to the local industry, helping to boost Singapore's aspiration to be a hydrohub. 'Singapore's unique situation has spawned a world-class water industry in a small country,' says Stephen Huen, managing director of Dayen.

Singapore is serious in its ambition to become a hydrohub. 'The litmus test lies in how much resources, attention and effort are being paid to developing Singapore as a hydrohub,' Mr Tan says. 'In terms of resources, we are not just talking about money and manpower from PUB or our parent, the Ministry of Environment and Water Resources.

In January 2006, the government established the National Research Foundation which will provide funding of $5 billion over the next five years for strategic R&D initiatives. Of this, $330 million will go to water and environment technologies.'

Within the ministry, the government has set up the EWI, an inter-agency body, to spearhead the growth of the local E&W industry. It is headed by PUB's chief executive Khoo Teng Chye. 'The government has been providing seed money, research funds and even test-bedding facilities that a small company would otherwise find cost-prohibitive,' Mr Tan says. 'We also act as a go-between, linking the academia with the corporate world.'

Overseas markets

IE Singapore and the EDB have offered help in marketing, branding and introduction to local E&W companies when they ventured to overseas markets like the Middle East and China. 'In fact, IE Singapore is helping to form a consortium of water companies to allow local E&W companies to provide the full value chain of services in targeted markets like the Middle East,' Mr Tan points out. 'But in the end, this has to be a sector that makes business sense so that its growth and development is sustainable. So I would say that government is there more as a catalyst and to help lower barriers to entry.'

He says developing a hydrohub is a multi-faceted exercise. 'We need to court not just industry players but also the thinkers and researchers that go hand-in-hand with them. 'Obviously we will try to get overseas water technology companies to come to Singapore, build our capabilities and then internationalise those capabilities,' Mr Tan says. 'In order to do this, we have to attract major foreign E&W industry players to site their R&D, engineering, manufacturing and HQ operations in Singapore. Then we - in particular through the EWI - will create a conducive environment for start-up companies in this industry and groom local companies to go international.'

Through a scheme called Fast-Tech, the government aims to grow a large number of successful start-ups in Singapore. It provides two critical ingredients - money and mentoring - by established water technology companies. 'Over the next five years, we will invest $10 million to accelerate the growth of potential water start-ups in Singapore,' Mr Tan says.

There is also the Technology Pioneer scheme, which encourages early adoption of locally-developed new E&W technologies. It dangles financial carrots for users to try out newly-developed technologies, while offering developers a platform to test their products in real-life operating conditions. This will help technology developers to build a track record for their technologies and ease their entry into the market.

'At the same time, there has to be a coordinated effort to ensure that the right kind of skilled manpower in sufficient quantities is available to support these businesses,' Mr Tan says. 'R&D - both corporate and academic - also needs to be firmly anchored here. This means cultivating stronger links with international R&D institutions and building a firm foundation in water R&D at Singaporean institutions.'

That's why the government is setting aside $30 million in the next five years to fund and train the next generation of research and professional leaders in the E&W technologies sectors, according to him.

So far, Singapore has been pretty successful in courting E&W companies to set up shop here. The last count put the figure at more than 50 international and local players in the sector. 'Looking back just at the past one year, you can see real progress made,' Mr Tan says. 'Big global players like Delft Hydraulics, CH2M Hill, GE Water, Black & Veatch and Siemens Water Technologies have set up or expanded their operations in Singapore, and entered into various agreements with PUB for R&D and commercial projects.'

Black & Veatch picked Singapore for the location of its global design centre because its office here has the expertise to implement world-class engineering projects. 'There is excellent talent in Singapore,' says Ralph Eberts, the company's regional managing director for the Asia-Pacific region.


PUB's four-tap strategy pays off
Business Times 23 Jun 08;

It has ensured not just a diversified source of water supply, but also one that's sustainable for generations to come, reports CHUANG PECK MING

IT'S IRONIC. Despite being surrounded by water, Singapore has to import water for drinking.

Ever since becoming a newly independent nation in 1965, after it broke off from Malaysia, Singapore has been aware of the need to secure water for the long term. Which is why it extracted from Malaysia agreements to supply water at an agreed price until 2011 and 2061, as an integral part of its separation agreement with its neighbour across the Causeway.

But when Singapore hit the wall in its subsequent talks with Malaysia to extend the agreement that's due to end in 2011, it was convinced that imports alone weren't the answer to Singapore's long-term water needs; it had to be self-sufficient.

Holistic policy

A plan was mapped out to meet this goal, with increasingly more efficient water management. New water-related policies were unveiled, heavy investments were made in desalination, extensive reuse of wastewater and catchment management.

PUB, which was managing potable water, electricity and gas, was assigned the job to put the plan to work. It took on the responsibilities for sewerage and drainage. This allowed it to develop and implement a holistic policy, which included protection and expansion of water resources, desalination, demand management, and outsourcing to the private sector activities which were not core to its mission, as well as public education and awareness programmes.

As the national water agency, PUB sums up its role as collection, production, distribution and reclamation of water in Singapore.

With all the pieces of the plan in place, a study on Singapore's water management by Cecilia Tortajada, a water expert at the International Water Centre in Spain, notes: 'The country is now fully sewered to collect all wastewater, and has constructed separate drainage and sewerage systems to facilitate wastewater reuse on an extensive scale.

Through an integrated management of the water loop, PUB has developed a 'four national taps' strategy that offers not just a diversified source of water supply, but also one that's sustainable for generations to come. The four taps: water from local catchment; imported water; NEWater - a high-grade reclaimed water; and desalinated water.

At the same time, PUB continues to invest in technology and R&D to explore new ways of producing and treating water more cheaply. The result? 'No matter which performance indicators are used, PUB invariably appears at the top 5 per cent of all the urban utilities of the world in terms of its performance,' says the Tortajada study.

Among the indicators: all Singaporeans have access to drinking water and sanitation; unaccounted-for water as a percentage of total production was just 5.18 per cent in 2004; and monthly bill collection efficiency was 99 per cent in 2004.

Right balances

Says Dr Tortajada: '(Singapore's) water demand management practices are unquestionably one of the best, if not the best, from any developed or developing countries, irrespective of whether a public or private sector institution is managing the water services.'

It has successfully put in place what experts have been preaching for years - finding the right balances between water quantity and water quality considerations; water supply and water demand management; public and private sector participation; efficiency and equity considerations; strategic national interest and economic efficiency; and strengthening internal capacities and reliance on external sources.

How did it do this? By taking a total approach in dealing with the problem - and being efficient all-round.

'Water management institution in a country can only be as efficient as as its management of other development sectors,' Dr Tortajada says.

So Singapore has been able to look at its water supply sources in their totality.

'In addition to importing water from Johor, it has made a determined attempt to protect is water sources, expand its available sources by desalination and reuse of wastewater and stormwater, and use technological developments to increase water availability, improve water quality management and steadily lower production and management costs,' Dr Tortajada notes.

In managing demand, PUB stuck to the price mechanism to deter wastages and encourage conservation.

Overall, Dr Tortajada says the governance of the water supply and wastewater management systems in Singapore is exemplary in performance, transparency and accountability.

Staff at PUB are hired for their skills, not political connections, and pay is tied to performance, she points out. Corruption is absent - and PUB has the autonomy and backing to do its job.
Pioneering work in water solutions
Chuang Peck Ming, Business Times 23 Jun 08;

A MAIN event in the Singapore International Water Week - a week-long gathering of experts in the water world and celebration of their achievements hosted by Singapore - is the presentation of the first Lee Kuan Yew Water Prize.

The $300,000 award, generously sponsored by the Temasek Holdings-backed Millennium Foundation, is to be given yearly to 'an individual or an organisation for outstanding contribution towards solving the world's water problems by applying innovative technologies, or implementing policies and programmes which benefit humanity'.

From a list of 39 nominees from 15 countries vetted by two high-powered committees, one headed by former deputy prime minister Tony Tan, Andrew Benedek fit the bill best to win the inaugural award named after Singapore's first prime minister who played a key role in shaping Singapore's success story in water management and self-sufficiency.

A Canadian researcher and successful technopreneur, Dr Benedek pioneered the development of low-pressure membranes that can filter out dirt from highly polluted water to make it fit for drinking.

'Today, many developed and developing countries have benefited from Dr Benedek's ground- breaking water solution,' Singapore's national water agency PUB said when it announced the winner in March.

Added Professor Anthony Gordon Fane of the Unesco Centre for Membrane Science & Technology, University of New South Wales: 'Dr Andrew Benedek is held in high esteem by the global water industry community for his pioneering work in low-pressure membranes. For this outstanding contribution, he deserves to be the recipient of the inaugural Lee Kuan Yew Water Prize.' Dr Benedek got a chemical engineering degree from McGill University in Canada in 1966.

Working briefly in the petrochemical industry, he came to see what harm pollution can do to the enviroment. So he specialised in environmental engineering for his post-graduate study. Dr Benedek obtained a PhD in chemical engineering from the University of Washington in Seattle in the US in 1970. His focus was on wastewater treatment.