Update: PUB calls tender to build Singapore's fourth desalination plant

NATIONAL water agency PUB said on Thursday that it would call a tender to build Singapore's fourth desalination plant at Marina East.

Planned with a capacity of 30 million imperial gallons per day, the plant will help meet future water demand in the city area and strengthen Singapore's drought resilience.

Located near water demand zones in the city and eastern Singapore, the Marina East desalination plant will also have the capability to treat freshwater from Marina Reservoir.

The tender will include the engineering design for the development of the plant under a Design-Build-Own-Operate (DBOO) arrangement.

Desalination is one of the citystate's "Four National Taps", which also include rain water from local catchments, imported water from Malaysia and reused wastewater, known as NEWater.

Singapore's first desalination project, the SingSpring Desalination Plant, is operated by Hyflux and produces 30 million gallons of water a day for PUB.

Tuaspring, the second and larger plant with a capacity of 70 million gallons of water, is also operated by Hyflux.

A third plant is being built at Tuas. With it, Singapore will be able to produce up to 130 million gallons of water a day from seawater, up from the current maximum of 100 million gallons a day.

Desalinated water, or treated seawater, now meets up to 25 per cent of current water demand and is expected to continue to meet up to 25 per cent of demand by 2060.

NEWater, which is treated used water, is slated to meet up to 55 per cent of Singapore's water demand by 2060, up from 30 per cent now.

PUB is a statutory board under the Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources. It is the water agency that manages Singapore's water supply, water catchment and used water in an integrated way.