SINGAPORE is burnishing its reputation as a centre for water technology, with local firms bagging the lion's share of $2.2 billion worth of deals at a recently concluded international meeting here.

Some key deals Hyflux's joint venture to build two desalination plants in Libya. Although not officially confirmed, analysts estimate the deal at $1.2 billion. A $150 million R&D centre set up by the National University of Singapore and General Electric Water and Process Technologies that will look to reduce the cost of desalinating seawater and treating used water. ... more

The deals, signed with several countries and companies worldwide, run the gamut from building entire desalination plants, or equipment such as pumping systems and pipe networks, to sharing expertise in areas such as membrane-based water treatment technologies.

The big winner at the Singapore International Water Week (SIWW), a forum that brought together government officials, industry experts and policymakers, was local firm Hyflux. The water treatment company signed an agreement to build two desalination plants in Libya in a deal worth close to $1.2 billion, according to analyst estimates.

Home-grown environmental specialist Dayen Environment was another winner: It signed two memorandums of understanding - worth $10 million - to provide, among other things, expertise in advanced waste water treatment methods.

The total value of deals signed at SIWW, which ended last Friday, eclipsed the figure of $367 million recorded during last year's inaugural Water Week.

It is a clear sign that many governments and private sector firms worldwide are interested in tapping Singapore's expertise in developing large-scale water reclamation projects, said SIWW managing director Michael Toh. 'Singapore is proving to be a key draw for water leaders and businesses, not just regionally, but around the world,' he said.

Although the $2.2 billion figure is a drop in the ocean when compared to the estimated worth of the worldwide water-related equipment and services market - US$463 billion (S$673 billion) by some analysts' reckoning - it marks a significant step for Singapore.

In 2004, the Republic set itself a target of taking 5 per cent of the global market by 2015, and the success of Water Week shows that it is well on its way to meeting it, said CIMB-GK economist Song Seng Wun.

'Singapore's targets tend to be relatively conservative, so this target could even be achieved earlier if we can build on the successes so far,' he said.

Citigroup economist Kit Wei Zheng noted that current trends favour Singapore. Countries worldwide, he said, are taking advantage of lower-priced commodities to increase investments that are 'long term and strategic' in nature. 'Resources that are essentially scarce like water are not going to be overtly impacted in the downturn,' he said.

Read the full story in Tuesday's edition of The Straits Times