Key Events at Singapore Int’l Water Week 2010

The recently concluded Singapore International Water Week 2010 (June 28-July 2) ended on a high note for many local and international water companies, where the total value of announcements for projects awarded, tenders, investments into Singapore and R&D MOUs exceeded S$2.8 billion, up by 27 percent from last year’s S$2.2 billion. The event, which was held together with the World Cities Summit this year, also saw a  record increase in the number of trade attendees to over 14,000 from 85 countries/regions.

Some of the more significant deals closed at Water Week included the combined S$69 million contract clinched by home-grown water company, Moya Dayen Ltd., from the Phnom Penh Water Supply Authority in Cambodia for Phase 1 of the Niroth Water Production Facilities Project. Awarded in two contracts, Moya Dayen will undertake the supply, delivery, and construction of a 25-m high intake tower located in the Mekong River, a raw water pumping station and a raw water transmission main as well as other ancillary works.

Under the second contract, Moya Dayen will construct a water treatment plant which includes treated water tanks, a treated water transmission main and other ancillary buildings. When completed, the Niroth Water Production Facilities — Phase I will be one of the largest water treatment facilities, producing 130,000m3/day of potable water, to serve the greater Phnom Penh population.

During the week, another Singapore home-grown energy, water and marine group, Sembcorp, also signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), worth S$280 million to expand seawater desalination capacity in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). On the local front, the company announced that it will develop a new integrated wastewater treatment facility in Jurong Island’s Tembusu District.

A local subsidiary of Boustead, a global infrastructure engineering company, was awarded a S$21 million contract for the first new water recycling plant in UAE.

Several collaborative agreements were also signed during the week including the joint development of Optiqua’s real time sensor technology by Optiqua Technologies, a subsidiary of Dutch optical sensor company Optisense and national water agency PUB, as well as a joint research and technology testing program to further develop energy-efficient water and wastewater treatment solutions by ITT Corp. and PUB.
Global Water Intelligence, the leading information service for the international water industry also announced its plans to set up its Asia office in PUB’s WaterHub, a centre for technology, learning and networking and home to many renowned water-related organizations such as the Singapore Water Association, International Water Association, Netherlands Water House, Singapore Society for Trenchless Technology, and R&D institutes of leading water players like Siemens, Nitto Denko and Optiqua Technologies.

At the Water Convention, more than 1,000 experts, academics and practitioners came together to discuss the advancements and challenges in water technologies. In particular, the enhanced networking and business opportunities, such as the Industry-to-Industry networking sessions to enable cross industry interaction at the Water Week were well received as testified by the robust attendance at every session. The number of participants in 2010 represented an increase of almost 20 percent over the preceding year.
The Water Expo, a major water trade show showcasing the latest and widest range of products, services and water technologies, saw a record turnout with a total of eight country pavilions, boosted by the debut of two new country pavilions from Canada and Korea. The Water Expo was completely sold out in the month leading to the start of the event. Following their success in previous editions of the Water Week, Japanese companies turned up in full force and showcased their latest water solutions in an expanded Japan Pavilion, which was double the space compared to 2009. The Expo also featured more than 500 participating companies from nearly 40 countries and regions.

In all, 26 new products and technologies made their regional and international debut at the Water Expo’s Innovation Corner, signaling a strong endorsement of the Water Week as an important platform for such global and regional launches.