PM Lee says Singapore's challenge is to sustain environment long-term

Hasnita A Majid, Channel NewsAsia 23 Jun 09;

SINGAPORE: Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has said Singapore's challenge is to sustain the environment as the city grows.

Speaking at the opening of Singapore’s largest water reclamation plant in Changi on Tuesday, Mr Lee said that to do so, the country must take a long-term view, prepare well ahead and align efforts across the government.

The launch of the Changi Water Reclamation Plant is another milestone in Singapore's overall strategy towards sustainable development.

Not only does the plant treat used water, it is also a feedstock for large scale production of NEWater.

Mr Lee said Singapore's basic attitude has been that environmental sustainability is not incompatible with economic development.

He added: "But far from degrading our environment, we have improved it. Singapore has become a clean and green city with a high quality living environment."

"Singaporeans enjoy fresh air, clean water and good public health, and almost half the island is covered with greenery, parks and nature areas."

But challenges on how to sustain the environment remain, which is why Singapore has set up an Inter-Ministerial Committee (on Sustainable Development) to develop a blueprint for a sustainable future.

"Community action is especially important, because we need everyone to play an active role," said Mr Lee.

"I am glad Singaporeans took an active interest in developing our Blueprint and come forward with many ideas and suggestions to improve our living environment. I hope Singaporeans will continue to contribute.

"Achieving sustainable development will call for each one of us to make an effort, to give our ideas and to adjust our lifestyles. Our Blueprint is meant to be an evolving and living concept.

"As we understand the sustainable challenge better, and as technology improves, we will continue to test out new solutions and push for higher standards."

Mr Lee said that to break new ground in sustainable development, cities will require a combination of far-sighted planning, sustained investment in infrastructure and breakthroughs in technology.

Hence, he said Singapore is keen to promote an international exchange of ideas on this.

Mr Lee added that Singapore's experience has shown that cities can overcome environmental and developmental changes by setting long-term goals and working consistently towards achieving them.

- CNA/yb

Key step to water adequacy
Changi water treatment complex plays a role in sustainable development
Clarissa Oon, Straits Times 24 Jun 09;

PRIME Minister Lee Hsien Loong unveiled a massive water treatment complex yesterday that symbolises Singapore's green policy, land-use approach and drive towards water self-sufficiency.

The $3.65 billion plant in Changi, connected to an underground tunnel system, will free up nearly 1,000ha of land now occupied by older plants in places such as Bedok and Seletar.

This land, to be developed for other purposes, is roughly three times the size of the Central Business District.

But the benefit goes beyond land use, said Mr Lee.

The Changi building will have a Newater plant built on its rooftop to turn the treated used water into water safe enough to drink.

When ready next year, the Newater plant, with the existing four, can double Newater capacity to meet one-third of Singapore's water needs.

These benefits were highlighted by Mr Lee at the opening ceremony of the Changi Water Reclamation Plant.

It was a main attraction of the Singapore International Water Week, attended by some 10,000 policy-makers and industry leaders from around the world.

Through the five-day annual conference, now in its second year, Singapore also hopes to promote an international exchange of ideas on innovative water solutions, Mr Lee said.

With rapid urbanisation and population growth draining the world's natural resources, 'cities will require a combination of far-sighted planning, sustained investment in infrastructure and breakthroughs in technology', he added.

In Singapore, the approach involves a network of underground tunnels that will pipe waste water from all over the island to two centralised treatment plants.

The Changi plant is the first in this deep tunnel sewerage system. A second plant in Tuas will be built over the next 10 to 20 years.

The Changi plant can treat 800,000 cu m of used water, piped daily from the northern and eastern parts of Singapore. This will form a vital feedstock for the Newater factory.

The Changi complex was 15 years in the making, and 'we pressed on despite economic downturns and the Sars crisis', Mr Lee noted.

The ultimate goal is to have an adequate supply of water for Singaporeans for years to come, he said.

Singapore imports 40 per cent of its water from Malaysia under two international agreements, one expiring in 2011 and the other in 2061. The rest of its supply comes from Newater, rainwater capture and desalination.

The plant is also significant in another way, noted Mr Lee.

It is part of Singapore's overall strategy for sustainable development, showing that environmental sustainability is not incompatible with economic development.

Although the population has soared from 1.6 million in 1959 to 4.8 million today, the environment has not suffered but improved.

Said Mr Lee: 'Singaporeans enjoy fresh air, clean water and good public health and almost half the island is covered with greenery, parks and nature areas.'

But a challenge awaits Singapore: sustaining the environment as the city grows and gets denser.

An inter-ministerial committee made its first recommendations in April on how Singapore can develop sustainably.

The water industry is a key plank of this green policy, Minister for the Environment and Water Resources Yaacob Ibrahim said yesterday.

He pointed to the Changi plant as a good showcase of cutting-edge water technology, involving about 350 local and overseas contractors, consultants and suppliers.

Visitors touring the facility yesterday were keen to find out more about it.

India's S.R. Roop Kumar, a chief engineer of the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board, said he is planning for an underground waste water reclamation plant in the southern Indian city.

'Not at the cost of environment'
Today Online 24 Jun 09;

THE launch of the Changi Water Reclamation Plant shows that environmental sustainability - the challenge for Singapore as the city grows - is not incompatible with economic development, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said yesterday at the opening of the $2.2-billion facility.

Mr Lee said Singapore has systematically and resolutely tackled used water and other issues without degrading the environment, and the Republic must take a long-term view, "prepare well ahead and align efforts across the whole government" to sustain its environment.

The plant, part of the Deep Tunnel Sewerage System (DTSS), collects used water from the northern and eastern parts of the island and is vital for the large-scale production of Newater.

"By allowing every drop of used water to be collected, treated and further purified into Newater, the DTSS ensures an adequate supply of water for Singaporeans for many years to come," said Mr Lee.

"Achieving sustainable development will call for each one of us to make an effort, to give our ideas and to adjust our lifestyles ... As we understand the sustainability challenge better, and as technology improves, we will continue to try out new solutions and push for higher standards." 938LIVE

New water plant underlines old theme
It shows that environment and economy can go hand in hand
Lee U-Wen, Business Times 24 Jun 09;

(SINGAPORE) The Republic's population may have tripled over the last 50 years - from 1.6 million people in 1959 to over 4.8 million today - but the quality of the environment here has not suffered at all, said Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.

Rather, the standards have improved over time because the government has adopted the basic attitude that environmental sustainability can, in fact, be compatible with economic development, he said last night before he officially commissioned the new Changi Water Reclamation Plant.

The ceremony was one of the highlights of the ongoing Singapore International Water Week, which runs until this Friday.

The $2.2 billion facility is the largest and most advanced of its kind in Singapore, and can treat 176 million gallons of water per day - equivalent to the volume of water in about 320 Olympic-sized swimming pools. It is another major step forward in Singapore's journey towards self-sustainability in water.

'This project is part of our overall strategy for sustainable development,' said Mr Lee. 'We have systematically and resolutely tackled used water and other issues faced by cities all over the world.'

'Singapore has become a clean and green city with a high-quality living environment. Singaporeans enjoy fresh air, clean water and good public health, and almost half the island is covered with greenery, parks and nature areas,' Mr Lee said.

A new NEWater plant - the fifth and the largest in Singapore - is currently being built on the rooftop of the Changi reclamation plant. And together with the other four NEWater plants, Singapore will have enough capacity to meet a third of the country's water needs by next year, said Mr Lee.

The challenge that the government is now meeting head on is how to sustain the environment as the city grows and gets even denser, said the Prime Minister. 'To do so, we must take the long view, prepare well ahead and align our efforts across the whole government.'

The Changi plant is part of the first phase of the Deep Tunnel Sewerage System, which will channel all used water through deep tunnels to two water reclamation plants, one at each end of the island.

'This will free up land occupied by the existing used-water plants and pumping stations, as well as the buffer land surrounding them,' said Mr Lee. In total, nearly 1,000ha of land - about the size of the Central Business District - will be released for development.