Plan to develop eco-park on Semakau Landfill expected early 2009

Asha Popatlal, Channel NewsAsia 3 Nov 08;

SINGAPORE: Semakau Landfill is set to get a new lease of life.

Jurong Consultants, as well as RSP Architects and Planners, are expected to come back with a master plan by early 2009.

The aim is to determine whether part of the area can be turned into an eco-park that runs on its own water and energy.

A growing population means a growing mound of rubbish. Waste disposal has increased six-fold in Singapore between 1970 and 2000.

Created in 1999, Semakau Landfill is on an island eight kilometres south of Singapore. It is currently used for the disposal of ash from Singapore's incinerators.

While recycling efforts have already extended the expected lifespan of Semakau Landfill to beyond 2040, the country still has some way to go. The national recycling rate has increased from 40 per cent in 2000 to 54 per cent in 2007.

The National Environment Agency is now looking at having an eco-park on Semakau Landfill to provide a test bed for renewable and clean energy technologies. It will take up a quarter of the area there.

Environment and Water Resources Minister Yaacob Ibrahim said: "With this, we can create opportunities for research and development, as well as the application of clean technologies."

Industry players say one advantage of using Semakau Landfill is that testing on the landfill will be much cheaper than on the main island of Singapore.

Chairman of Sustainable Energy Association of Singapore, Edwin Khew, said: "This provides good opportunities (for)... testing out solar panels and even wind, perhaps around the island.

"There are enough waves and currents that can be used and other types of clean energies where you have cheap space to test bed on how useful it is and develop further the (current) technologies."

General manager of Semakau Landfill, Ong Chong Peng, said: "Our long-term vision is to make Semakau Landfill self-sustainable in energy and water needs."

The announcement was made on Monday at a waste management congress - where companies such as Asia-Pacific Breweries, which reduced packaging cost, received awards.

- CNA/yt

Eco-park details in January
RSP Architects, Jurong Consultants to come up withconcept masterplan
Esther Ng, Today Online 4 Nov 08;

THICK grass covers a flat stretch of land for more than two kilometres. A few young trees stand tall and migratory birds swoop across the plain. It is hard to imagine this natural sanctuary as Semakau, a landfill commissioned nine years ago as the dumping ground for ash from Singapore’s waste incinerators.

Now, RSP Architects and Jurong Consultants have been commissioned by the National Environment Agency (NEA) to study how to transform a quarter of the island — some 90 hectares — into an eco-park.

Besides offering recreational and educational activities, the eco-park will serve as a test-bed for renewable energy technologies. Details of the concept ­masterplan will be unveiled in January.

Already, since it was open to organised tours in mid-2005, Semakau has been seeing a stream of visitors, like those from the Astronomical Society of Singapore.

Said Mr Ong Chong Peng, general manager of Semakau Landfill and Tuas Marine Transfer Station: “We’re fully booked for the weekend till the end of the year; a few openings are available on weekdays. We’re especially packed this month because of Clean and Green Singapore.”

Limiting the number of visitors through advance bookings helps minimise the impact on Semakau’s environment. Would such curbs on visitor numbers continue, when the eco-park is up and running?

Mr Ong said it was for the NEA to decide. The Sport Fishing Association Singapore, for one, limits the number of anglers heading to the island to 22 a month, and does not fish there between November and January.

The group’s chairman, Mr Chin Chi Khiong, said: “The goals of exposing Singaporeans to nature and preserving the environment are daunting ... Which is more important — the eco-system or the recreational activities on the island? If it’s the eco–system, then we should sacrifice the numbers.”

Dr Shawn Lum, president of Nature Society Singapore, said: “The guiding principle should be why are we doing this. Will the people who come to Semakau become more environmentally conscious? If they do, then you can justify having more activity.”