Singapore’s fifth desalination plant will be co-located within an existing facility, such as a power or steam generation plant on Jurong Island. This is expected to boost synergies in resources, such as seawater intake and outfall structures or energy.
The development is part of a broader trend. Joined up planning of resource facilities are taking advantage of synergies across the nexus of energy and water and also waste and other resources, such as those being planned through Singapore’s iconic Deep Tunnel Sewerage System (DTSS).
Climate uncertainties are impacting long-term water planning in many developing Asian cities. In response, regional utilities and developers need more resilient solutions, like water desalination and reuse, which are independent of climate change.
Rainfall Independent Solutions
Cost is also a considerable barrier. With sensitivity to rate increases, alternative and more affordable ways to implement rainfall independent solutions are required. Such integrated planning of co-located facilities may provide answers that reduce operational costs.
The co-location of facilities is also attractive to city planners in Asia, where the high cost of land complicates project development further.
PUB, Singapore’s national water agency, released a Request for Proposals (RFP) in February for the development of a 137,000-cubic-metre desalination plant under a design-build-own-operate (DBOO) arrangement by 2020.
