The Public Utilities Board (PUB) is set to have a new chairman after Mr Tan Gee Paw steps down from his position tomorrow, the national water agency announced yesterday.
His post will be taken over by Mr Chiang Chie Foo, 61.
Mr Tan, 73, who has been chairman since April 1, 2001, will leave with nearly 50 years of experience in environmental and water management under his belt.
His first major project in the late 1960s involved drawing up the Bukit Timah Flood Alleviation Scheme - a plan to ease flooding in the rapidly developing Bukit Timah catchment area during the early years of nation-building.
Singapore's flood-prone areas have been reduced from 3,200ha in the 1970s to about 30ha today.
Mr Tan was also instrumental in developing Singapore's first Water Master Plan, which set the foundation for strengthening the nation's water resilience, in 1972.
Options considered in the plan included water reuse and seawater desalting, which were developed into Newater and desalination - Singapore's third and fourth "national taps" respectively. Water from local catchment represents the first tap; imported water, the second.
In 1977, Mr Tan was also part of the project that resulted in the clean-up of the Singapore River and Kallang Basin.
This built the foundation for the iconic Marina Reservoir years later - the first reservoir-in-a-city with a catchment area that was one-sixth the size of the island.
Mr Tan received the Public Administration Medal (Silver) in 1978 and the Distinguished Service Order in 2010 for his work as chairman of PUB.
The incoming chairman, Mr Chiang, is a graduate of the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University in the United States. He retired from the civil service in 2013 after a long career, having been awarded the Public Administration Medal (Gold) in 1997, the Long Service Medal in 2004 and the Meritorious Service Medal in 2007.
His previous appointments include principal private secretary to then Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong (1990 to 1992) and permanent secretary of the Ministry of Defence (2004 to 2013).
Separately, PUB has appointed three new board members.
They are Mr Abu Bakar Mohd Nor, managing director of Keppel Singmarine; Mr S. Thiagarajan, strategy director of the Freelancers and Self-Employed Unit in the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC); and Mr Tan Siong Leng, former deputy chief executive of the Urban Redevelopment Authority .
Mr Lim How Teck, chairman of Redwood International, and Mr Zainal Sapari, director of the Centre for Contract and Casual Workers in NTUC, will be leaving the board.
