SINGAPORE, June 24, 2009 -- Black & Veatch today announced that the first phase of the Sembcorp Changi NEWater Plant (SCNP) in Singapore was completed on schedule and will begin commercial operations next month. The plant uses the main advanced water treatment process steps of Micro-filtration (MF), Reverse Osmosis (RO) and Ultraviolet radiation to produce NEWater, high-grade reclaimed water. This ultra-clean water is mainly supplied to industrial and commercial customers including water fabrication plants. When completed in 2010, the plant will supply 15 percent of Singapore's current water needs.
Sembcorp was awarded the project in January 2008 and has an agreement to supply PUB, Singapore's national water agency, with NEWater for the next 25 years. Black & Veatch provided full design engineering services for the plant along with construction support and commissioning services.
"When completed the plant will be one of the largest water recycling facilities in the world," said William Yong, Associate Vice President and Director of Black & Veatch's client services for the South Asia Pacific region.
The design of the SCNP reduces land use and minimizes construction costs by placing the main NEWater facilities on the roof of the Changi Water Reclamation Plant (CWRP). Treated used water from the CWRP will be piped directly to the SCNP as feedwater, minimizing the extent of pipework for conveyance.
"Sustainability played a big role in the project as the design focused on minimizing the whole-of-life cost of the facility, keeping the capital and the operational expenditures to a minimum and helping Sembcorp submit a winning bid," Yong added. "We had 120 professionals from our integrated global workforce working on the plant, which ensured that the design and construction stayed on the fast-track schedule."
"We are pleased to be working with Sembcorp, one of the leading utility companies in the region," said Ralph Eberts, Senior Vice President and Managing Director of Black & Veatch's Asia Pacific water business. "We've provided a full range of services on this landmark project including engineering, construction support and commissioning. In most of our global markets, we are similarly involved in all phases of project delivery, often as the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractor."
Technical Notes:
• Current capacity of the plant stands at 69 MLD or 169,000 m³/day
• Full capacity of 228 MLD or 228,000 m³/day when it is completed
• The Sembcorp Changi NEWater Plant is Singapore's fifth and largest NEWater plant
• Together the five NEWater plants will meet 30 percent of Singapore's current water needs by 2010
• Because the plant is constructed on an innovative "plant-on-plant" design it covers a smaller land area. Total area of the plant is 12,300 m²
• Special care had to be taken during the construction process to prevent damage to the existing roof structure and to allow continuous operation of the Changi Water Reclamation Plant.
• Storage tanks are sited on reclaimed land which required greater bored piling depth due to the presence of marine clay
• The plant receives treated used water from PUB's Changi Water Reclamation Plant, which is designed to collect about half of Singapore's total used water. Specialist features have been built in to ensure reliable and flexible operations.
Sembcorp Industries is a leading utilities and marine group providing centralized utilities, energy and water to industrial and other customers in Singapore, the United Kingdom, Asia and the Middle East.
Black & Veatch is a leading global engineering, consulting and construction company specializing in infrastructure development in energy, water, telecommunications, management consulting, federal and environmental markets.
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