Keppel unit invests S$5m in environmental solutions firm Zerowaste Asia

KEPPEL Seghers, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Keppel Corp's infrastructure arm, will take an 18.18 per cent stake in Zerowaste Asia for S$5 million.

Zerowaste Asia's environmental solutions will enhance Keppel Seghers' portfolio, which comprises a range of solutions for wastewater treatment and water recycling, said Keppel Corp in a press statement on Monday.

Singapore-based Zerowaste Asia, which also has a presence in China, has a proprietary technology which removes heavy metals and pollutants from waste, and recycles detoxified waste into materials for land reclamation and construction. The company also treats wastewater for reuse in industrial operations.

These solutions will complement Keppel Seghers' proprietary waste-to-energy technology, which reduces the volume of solid waste to be landfilled by up to 90 per cent. They will provide further treatment to extract heavy metals and pollutants from incineration fly ash and bottom ash, allowing the ash to be further reused instead of being landfilled, Keppel Corp said.

It added that Zerowaste Asia's solutions can also repurpose wastewater for reuse or further treat the wastewater to meet increasingly stringent disposal criteria.

Tan Boon Leng, executive director (environmental infrastructure) of Keppel Infrastructure, said the strategic investment "creates synergies and opens up new possibilities for the Keppel Group as a provider of solutions for sustainable urbanisation".

The transaction is not expected to have a significant impact on Keppel Corp's earnings per share and net tangible asset per share for the current financial year.

Shares in Keppel Corp closed at S$6.72 on Friday, up 0.2 per cent or one Singapore cent.