The Ulu Pandan NEWater Plant is a cost-saving success developed using a Public Private Partnership approach

Ulu Pandan NEWater Plant

Water in nature has a “cycle” that urban and industrial water usage can adversely impact. Recycling is a more sustainable approach for using water and one that reduces the impact of human activity on nature’s water cycle.

Singapore, through its Public Utilities Board, has implemented a major water recycling program for reusing secondary effluent from industry and air-conditioning cooling towers in commercial buildings. Our Water group provided engineering advice for the project, including tendering and construction supervision of the contract. NEWater is a high-grade reclaimed water produced by further treating secondary effluent through processes involving micro/ultra-membrane filtration, reverse osmosis, and UV disinfection. 

The 32 million gallon per day Ulu Pandan NEWater Plant is the fourth NEWater plant providing high quality water to the Tuas, Jurong, and Jurong Island industrial areas. The plant was delivered using the Public-Private Partnership (P3) approach. Under this arrangement, the client contracted Keppel Seghers to design, build, own, and operate the Plant for 20 years—to 2027. By using the P3 model, we were able to reduce the project cost for NEWater allowing the operator to pass savings on to consumers.