Singapore aims to be self-sufficient in water

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Singapore, May 21: Singapore's state water agency PUB is investing in a new water treatment system and reservoirs, as it aims to make the import-dependent country self-sufficient in water, its chief executive told Reuters on Wednesday.

The country, which relies on imported water from Malaysia for more than half of its needs, is building additional plants to recycle water and new catchment reservoirs to collect rain, PUB's Chief Executive Khoo Teng Chye said in an interview.

It plans capital expenditure of $1.47 billion in the next five years on water infrastructure, on top of a S$3.6 billion water reclamation plant to be finished early next year.

"The goal is to supply all our needs," said Khoo. "We know that we have the capacity...it's well within sight." PUB has built three "NEWater" plants, using membranes and ultraviolet rays to purify waste water, with another built by conglomerate Keppel Corp and a fifth by peer SembCorp Industries expected to make recycled water 30% of the city-state's supply by 2010.

Khoo said more could be on the drawing board, with the capital expenditure to come from water firms and guaranteed demand at a set price for 25 years from the government.

"NEWater plants will be the main focus for the foreseeable future," he said. "Recycling is one of the most practical ways of solving water problems for many cities."

Demand for water is expected to grow in line with economic growth, forecast long-term by the government at 4-6%, with industrial needs also rising as firms such as ExxonMobil and Royal Dutch Shell build water-intensive plants. A lack of land means the country is dependent on water from neighbouring Malaysia, a potential security risk should relations turn hostile in the future, but Khoo said three new reservoirs would make two-thirds of Singapore a water catchment in three years. Singapore already has 14 reservoirs, enabling it to collect rain that falls on half of its land area of 700 square kilometres -- about eight times the size of Manhattan.

A dam sealing its Marina Bay harbour has been completed and will be turned into a freshwater reservoir by the end of 2009 or early 2010, when the other two reservoirs will also be ready.