The ceremony was officiated by the Guest of Honor – Prime Minister of Singapore Lee Hsien Loong, as well as Grace Fu, Minister for Sustainability and the Environment.
Singapore: Keppel Infrastructure Holdings Pte Ltd (Keppel Infrastructure) and PUB, Singapore’s National Water Agency, have officially opened the Keppel Marina East Desalination Plant (KMEDP), Singapore’s fourth desalination plant.
The ceremony was officiated by Guest of Honor, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, as well as Minister for Sustainability and the Environment, Grace Fu; Chairman of Keppel Corporation, Dr. Lee Boon Yang; Chairman of PUB, Chiang Chie Foo; CEO of Keppel Corporation Limited, Loh Chin Hua; CE of PUB, Ng Joo Hee; and CEO of Keppel Infrastructure, Dr. Ong Tiong Guan.
KMEDP, Singapore’s first large-scale, dual-mode desalination plant, is capable of producing 137,000 cubic meters (about 30 million gallons) of fresh drinking water per day. The plant commenced commercial operations on 29 June 2020 and is operated by Marina East Water Pte Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Keppel Infrastructure, for a 25-year concession period from 2020 to 2045, under the Design, Build, Own and Operate (DBOO) arrangement with National Water Agency PUB.
Located at Marina East, KMEDP can either treat seawater or freshwater drawn from the Marina Reservoir, depending on the prevailing weather conditions, thus strengthening Singapore’s water supply resilience.
Ng Joo Hee, Chief Executive of PUB, said, “Seawater desalination is one of Singapore’s ‘four national taps’. Unlike the other three taps – imports, rainfall, and recycled water – it is a practically limitless source. It is also weather-resistant and always available, rain or shine, as a source of life-giving water. The availability of desalination makes Singapore’s water supply immensely resilient. And the KMEDP coming online further strengthens Singapore’s water security.”
Dr. Ong Tiong Guan, CEO of Keppel Infrastructure, commented, “Keppel is pleased to mark the official opening of KMEDP and support the Singapore Government in strengthening the resilience of Singapore’s water supply. The development and operation of the KMEDP are very much in line with Keppel’s Vision 2030, which envisages the Group providing environmental solutions to contribute to sustainable urbanization. The completion of the plant within budget and on schedule during the Covid-19 pandemic is a further testament to the resilience of Keppel and PUB, and our strong partnership, which has grown from strength to strength.”
KMEDP is the second water plant developed and operated by Keppel under the DBOO arrangement. The first, Keppel Seghers Ulu Pandan NEWater Plant, commenced commercial operations in 2007.
Seamlessly integrated with the surrounding greenery, KMEDP features nearly 20,000 square meters of open green rooftop space for community activity and recreation. The plant’s treatment facilities are situated underground, viewable via a private viewing gallery. For its outstanding design features and exceptional Active, Beautiful, Clean (ABC) standards, KMEDP became the first industrial plant in Singapore to be awarded the ABC Waters Certification (Gold) by PUB in October 2019. KMEDP is one of the first infrastructure projects in Singapore to employ 3D, 4D, and 6D Building Integrated Management (BIM) systems. This comprehensive integrated model enhances collaboration among the developer, designer, consultant, suppliers, and subcontractors by allowing them to visualize their plans via 3D modeling. KMEDP is also the first desalination plant in Singapore to feature the energy-efficient direct coupling of the ultrafiltration (UF) and reverse osmosis (RO) systems, where water filtered from the upstream UF process is fed directly to the downstream RO process, eliminating intermediate break tanks and pumping stages, resulting in significant cost and space-saving, and makes the process up to 15% more energy-efficient.
Keppel Infrastructure (KI) is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Keppel Corporation Limited, a leading company listed on the Singapore Exchange. KI drives the Keppel Group’s strategy to invest in, own, and operate competitive energy and environmental infrastructure solutions and services. Keppel Seghers, a wholly-owned subsidiary of KI, is a leading provider of comprehensive environmental solutions and provides consultancy, design and engineering, technology development, and construction of large-scale environmental projects. Keppel Infrastructure Services houses the technical support and Operations & Maintenance (O&M) capabilities within the Keppel Infrastructure group. It operates energy and environmental-related infrastructure facilities globally.
PUB is a statutory board under the Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment. It is the national water agency, and manages Singapore’s water supply, water catchment, and used water in an integrated way. PUB has ensured a diversified and sustainable supply of water for Singapore with the Four National Taps (local catchment water, imported water, NEWater, desalinated water).
© Smart Water & Waste World. Send us your editorial contributions at mayur@smartwww.in
