PUB-owned Tuas Desalination Plant wins global award

Barely a year after its opening, the Republic's Tuas Desalination Plant has won an accolade.

The desalination plant - the first plant owned and operated by national water agency PUB - was named Desalination Plant of the Year at this year's Global Water Awards, presented at the Global Water Summit in London on Tuesday.

The awards recognise the most important achievements in the international water industry, including improved operating performance, innovative technology adoption and sustainable financial models. The other plants in the running for the Desalination Plant of the Year category were Barka 4 IWP in Oman, Djerba in Tunisia and Galalah in Egypt.

PUB said in a statement yesterday that the Tuas Desalination Plant marked a major milestone in Singapore's water sustainability journey. As the country's third desalination plant, the $217 million facility is Singapore's most technologically advanced plant, setting new industry benchmarks for its robust pre-treatment processes and reliance on clean energy, said PUB.

The plant is housed in a 3.5ha facility, which is roughly the size of five football fields. It produces up to 30 million gallons of drinking water a day, which is equivalent to the water demands of about 200,000 households.

Mr Christopher Gasson, publisher of media and events company Global Water Intelligence, which established the awards in 2006, said: "Tuas Desalination Plant... sets a new ecological benchmark and puts the PUB at the forefront of desalination plant development for decades to come in the region."

PUB chief executive Ng Joo Hee said: "We are proud that the plant has been recognised by our peers, and even prouder that it is providing Singapore with high-quality drinking water and enduring water security every day."

The plant is housed in a 3.5ha facility, which is roughly the size of five football fields.

Other categories at the awards include Water Company of the Year, Desalination Company of the Year and Public Water Agency of the Year.

Last year's winners were the Mirfa IWPP in Abu Dhabi and the Jazan IGCC desalination plant in Saudi Arabia for the Municipal and Industrial Desalination Plant of the Year categories respectively.

This is not the Republic's first win at the awards.

Last year, the Ulu Pandan wastewater treatment project, designed to pilot technologies for the new Tuas Water Reclamation Plant, won Water/Wastewater Project of the Year.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on April 11, 2019, with the headline PUB-owned Tuas Desalination Plant wins global award. Subscribe