SINGAPORE – National water agency PUB is planning to build a $170.59 million NEWater factory in Changi and issued a tender to procure professional engineering services for the project in July. Construction of the treatment plant is projected to start in 2022 and will take two years to be completed. The new plant is destined to replace an existing facility in Bedok, one of Singapore’s oldest NEWater factories. The new plant will have a capacity to treat 227,304 m3/d water a day, three times as much as current Bedok facility.es as much as the one in Bedok.
PUB revealed that the Changi Water Reclamation plant is undergoing expansion work and while site constraints due to the pandemic have caused delays, the expansion is still on track to be finished by 2022. The new plant in Changi, together with the existing NEWater plants, will produce enough water to meet about half of Singapore’s current water demands, which is around 19.5 million m3/d. (Channel News Asia)
A new green roof at the Keppel Marina East desalination plant has opened to the public. From September 1, access to the green roof is open to the public for exercising and having picnics. Since the plant’s desalination facilities are underground, 20,000 square meter of open green rooftop space is available for community activities and recreation. In addition, the green roof reduces the urban heat island effect. (Mothership)
KUWAIT – Kuwait Ministry of Electricity and Water (MEW) is planning to tender the design and consultancy for the first phase of the Nuwaiseeb power and water desalination plant in the city of Al Ahmadi in the last quarter of 2020. The design consultancy tender is expected to be released by October 2020 and the design completion is expected for the first quarter 2021. The source told Zawya Projects that the project completion is scheduled for December 2024. Another source stated that the prequalification and tendering process for the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract for Phase 1 is planned for March 2021. Phase 1 of the project consists of the construction of a 3,000-megawatt power plant and water desalination facility with a capacity of a 340,956 m3/d. (ZAWYA)
The Nuwaiseeb Power & Water Co-Generation plant project in Kuwait. Credit: METenders
CHILE – IDE Technologies has won a contract to build a desalination plant to supply fresh water to Aconcagua basin miners. The EPC contract awarded by Aguas Pacifico SpA, includes the engineering, supply, construction, start-up and commissioning of a seawater reverse osmosis desalination plant with a capacity of 86,400 m3/d located in the bay of Quintero in the Valparaiso Region of Chile. According to IDE, the facility will be the first drought-proof fresh water source in the Aconcagua basin and will serve municipal, agricultural, industrial and mining clients in the region. (International Mining)
INDIA – The Tamil Nadu Water Supply and Drainage Board (TWAD) has proposed constructing a desalination plant inside the Koonimedu reserve forest in Villupuram district. According to The New Indian Express, sources stated that the state forest department has recommended the project. A report from the Villupuram district forest office states that a total of 2,319 trees are marked in the forest area for diversion and 2,092 trees will be felled for the project.
The Regional Empowered Committee of the Union Environment Ministry deferred the proposal, requesting additional information. The committee requested a detailed report from the state government on the purpose of the desalinated water and a quantification of water allocation for each purpose. The committee also noted that the state government should resurvey the forest area and instead of in the middle of the forest block, suggest a site on one side of the forest area. (The New Indian Express)