National water agency PUB has selected HSL Constructor Pte Ltd as the Contractor for the construction of Singapore’s third desalination plant at Tuas. The plant is expected to commence operations in 2017 and will add another 30 million gallons, or 136,000 cubic metres, of water per day (mgd) to Singapore’s water supply. It will be owned and operated by PUB.
The open tender attracted bids from eight reputable companies. At a tender price of S$217 million, HSL Constructor Pte Ltd offered the most competitive price for the design and construction of the plant.
“Since its introduction in 2005, desalinated water has helped strengthen Singapore’s water supply resilience. In particular, together with NEWater, it has helped us weather extremities like dry spells in recent years, and this third plant will help us further expand our water supply system to meet the growing demand in a reliable and cost-efficient manner,” said Mr Young Joo Chye, Director (Engineering Development & Procurement), PUB.
The desalination plant will be Singapore’s third desalination plant. Currently, Singapore has two desalination plants, the 30mgd SingSpring desalination plant, and the 70mgd Tuaspring Desalination Plant. PUB has also awarded a consultancy services tender for a fourth desalination plant, which will be built at Marina East.
Desalinated water is one of PUB’s Four National Taps, a long term water supply strategy to ensure a robust and sustainable supply of water for Singapore. The other three sources are water from local catchments, imported water from Johor and NEWater. Desalinated water currently meets 25% of Singapore’s water demand. With water demand expected to increase, PUB intends to increase desalinated water capacity in order to continue to meet 25% of future water demand in 2060.
