SINGAPORE - Mr Choi Shing Kwok, Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources, will retire on Oct 1, after 36 years of service in the public sector.

The 58-year-old will be replaced by Mr Albert Chua, who will relinquish his appointment as the Second Permanent Secretary for Foreign Affairs, the Public Service Division (PSD) said in a statement on Friday (Aug 04).

As permanent secretary for Environment and Water Resources since 2012, Mr Choi "made significant contributions in providing Singaporeans with a quality living environment", the PSD added, including playing a key role in the development of the landmark Transboundary Haze Pollution Act.

Mr Choi joined the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) in 1978 upon being awarded an SAF Overseas Scholarship. He held various appointments in the SAF before he was appointed as director of the Security and Intelligence Division at Ministry of Defence from 1995 to 2005.

In 2005, he was appointed permanent secretary for Transport, where he contributed to strengthening Singapore's transportation connectivity and developing the public transport sector.

The incoming permanent secretary for Environment and Water Resources, Mr Chua, 49, served in various posts in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs before his appointment as principal private secretary to then Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong in 2004.

Mr Chua later became Singapore's high commissioner to Australia in 2008 and, in 2011, permanent representative to the United Nations in New York.

He has been Second Permanent Secretary for Foreign Affairs since 2014.