Keppel awarded centralised cooling system contract for 3 Tengah BTO projects
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The cooling systems will serve about 3,500 households at Brickland Weave, Plantation Edge I and II, and Plantation Verge.
PHOTO: HDB
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SINGAPORE – The Housing Board has awarded global asset manager Keppel a 20-year contract to build and operate centralised cooling systems in three Build-To-Order (BTO) projects in Tengah.
The cooling systems managed by Keppel’s infrastructure division will serve about 3,500 households at Brickland Weave, Plantation Edge I and II, and Plantation Verge, HDB and Keppel said in a joint statement on Sept 30.
The projects, which have already been launched, are slated for completion between the second and fourth quarter of 2027.
HDB’s award of the latest contract to Keppel comes after reports of condensation and leaking in an earlier roll-out of centralised cooling in homes in Tengah.
That roll-out was handled by utilities company SP Group and manufacturer Daikin.
Home owners can visit Keppel’s experience centre at HDB Hub in Toa Payoh from Sept 30 to learn more about the cooling system.
PHOTO: KEPPEL
The statement said Keppel will leverage its “track record and expertise” to deliver the cooling system to homes, citing the firm’s combined cooling portfolio of more than 260,000 refrigeration tonnes in the region.
It also pointed out that Keppel was awarded a 30-year contract to build and operate a new large-scale district cooling plant in Jurong Lake District in 2023, and it also provides cooling solutions to CapitaLand and Perennial Holdings developments in Singapore and China.
“Keppel will be incorporating innovative engineering and design features and utilising industrial-grade materials to achieve industry standard performance, durability, as well as to take into account aesthetic considerations,” HDB and Keppel said.
The cooling systems will be connected to Keppel’s operations nerve centre in Changi, where workers can control the systems remotely and monitor performance in real time.
HDB chief executive Tan Meng Dui said with more players in the market providing centralised cooling systems in public housing estates, the board hopes that this would raise the capabilities of firms in the industry and make “HDB living highly liveable and sustainable”.
Ms Cindy Lim, CEO of Keppel’s infrastructure division, said the firm is well placed to work with HDB to provide modern cooling solutions to home owners, as it has served the cooling needs of business parks, commercial offices, hotels and malls for more than 20 years.
Asked about what would happen after the 20-year contract, HDB said it will assess if the contract could be renewed, or appoint another service provider.
“HDB will monitor the performance of both SP Group and Keppel’s centralised cooling systems and assess the feasibility of introducing (such systems) to other BTO projects in the future,” it added.
Home owners from the three BTO projects can visit Keppel’s experience centre at HDB Hub in Toa Payoh to learn more about the cooling systems. They can also see Keppel’s cooling system design in a mock-up of a home unit.
An earlier launch of a centralised cooling system in Tengah by SP Group ran into teething issues,
