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  Business Times 3 Jul 07
Summit of 300 water industry global leaders here next June

Straits Times 3 Jul 07
1st Water Prize: Sponsor pumps in $1.5m

Today Online 3 Jul 07
LKY prize for water winners
Daphne Chuah

Channel NewsAsia 2 Jul 07
Singapore to host inaugural International Water Week

SINGAPORE: Singapore will host an inaugural international event to showcase new water technologies and solutions. 6,000 delegates will convene at Suntec Singapore from 23-27 June 2008, for the five-day Singapore International Water Week.

A Lee Kuan Yew Water Prize, with a kitty of S$1.5 million over five years, will also be awarded at the event. The Singapore meeting is set to complement the well-known World Water Week, held in Stockholm annually.

The lack of drinking water is fast becoming a huge problem for many countries. Singapore has prepared for this by producing NEWater, used mainly for industrial purposes currently. This initiative of recycling used water has gained Singapore international recognition, and organisers say the country is well-poised to host the international meeting, which is set to break new grounds. The meeting is expected to cost between S$2 million and S$4 million.

Said Khoo Teng Chye, Executive Director, Environment & Water Industry Development Council, "We want to create an event for the water industry that really would be a global event that would attract water leaders and water experts... every year. "... this will be differentiated and complementary to other international water events, in that we will focus on technologies... application... successful solutions, and... the Asia Pacific area in which we operate."

One of the highlights of the event is the award of the Lee Kuan Yew Water Prize - worth S$300,000, a gold medallion and a certificate. The international water award recognises individuals and organisations for their outstanding contribution to solving the world's water problems, through implementation of policies or application of innovative technologies.

Khoo said: "More than half of the world's population will be urbanised or live in cities by the year 2008. Water is a key resource that has to be very well-managed in urban areas.

"We think that in Singapore, the way that we have solved our water problems as a city state, is something that we could share.

"That's why we've decided, for the inaugural Singapore Water Week, on the theme of 'Sustainable Water Solutions for Cities'."

A water festival at the Marina Barrage will also likely be held in conjunction with the International Water Week. - CNA/yy

Today Online 3 Jul 07
LKY prize for water winners
Daphne Chuah

INNOVATIVE ideas that have proven their worth in solving global water woes will now be credited through a new $300,000 Lee Kuan Yew Water Prize. Nominations are only open to people who are highly respected in the world community, including chief executive officers of multi-national companies and water utilities, leading academics in water research, policy and management, and members of government.

"Good management of water resources is important and many water problems can be solved with technology and good policies and programmes," said Mr Ong Boon Hwee, board director of the Singapore Millennium Foundation (SMF).

The SMF, the sole sponsor for the water prize, will be sponsoring a total of $1.5 million over the next five years. Apart from the $300,000 cash prize, the Lee Kuan Yew Water Prize Laureate will also receive a gold medallion and a certificate at next year's Singapore International Water Week, an annual event starting next June.

Themed "Sustainable Water Solutions for Cities", the inaugural five-day event will be a platform for government officials and industry leaders, as well as water specialists and practitioners to gather and discuss policies, business solutions and water technologies.

"We chose this theme because more than half of the world's population will be living in cities by next year, which makes the need for sustainable water solutions more important than ever," said Mr Khoo Teng Chye, executive director of the Environment and Water Industry Development Council and the chief executive of the Public Utilities Board.

According to the World Water Council, about one out of six people worldwide lack access to safe drinking water.

Within the next 50 years, the world population will increase by some 40 per cent and this population growth — coupled with industrialisation and urbanisation — will result in an increasing demand for water, which will subsequently affect the environment.

Some 6,000 business visitors are expected at the water conference, which also comprises the Water Leaders' Summit, Water Convention and Water Expo. Nominations for the Lee Kuan Yew Water Prize are open until Dec 15.

Straits Times 3 Jul 07
1st Water Prize: Sponsor pumps in $1.5m

THE first backers of the inaugural Lee Kuan Yew Water Prize, as well as the first Singapore International Water Week, to be held next year, have stepped forward.

The Temasek Trust-supported Singapore Millennium Foundation (SMF) is pumping in $1.5 million to keep the annual Water Prize going for five years, Mr Khoo Teng Chye, chief executive of PUB, the national water agency, said yesterday.

The global award recognises an individual or organisation for outstanding contributions towards solving the world's water woes through innovative technological solutions. The winner gets an award certificate, $300,000 and a gold medallion.

SMF board director Ong Boon Hwee said: 'Water is a global concern...I hope this effort helps spur more cutting-edge technologies to help find some solutions.' Nominations will close on Dec 15. A winner will be decided on by March.

The prize-giving will be the highlight of the Singapore International Water Week, to be held from June 23 to June 27 at the Suntec Convention Centre. The event focuses on technologies and water issue solutions.

Keppel Corporation, SembCorp Industries, United Engineers and Salcon have donated $200,000 each to organising the event. The Government will also put in between $2 million and $4 million a year in seed money for the first few years, after which the private sector will take on a bigger role, said Mr Michael Toh, deputy director of the Environment & Water Industry Development Council and the event's general manager.

The event's theme, Sustainable Water Solutions for Cities, is especially fitting, said PUB's Mr Khoo.

A United Nations Population Fund report last week said by next year, more than half the world's population, or about 3.3 billion people, will live in towns and cities, making urban water management crucial.

'Over the last 40 years, Singapore has found good solutions to our water problems, and there is a little bit that we can share with the world,' said Mr Khoo.

Business Times 3 Jul 07
Summit of 300 water industry global leaders here next June

SINGAPORE'S reputation as a world water-technology leader will get an extra boost in June next year at the first Singapore International Water Week. Next year's event will focus on urban water-management solutions.

It will feature a Water Summit, where 300 of the world's top water-industry leaders and government officials will meet to discuss technologies and policies.

'From the Singapore perspective, we have something to share with the world,' said Khoo Teng Chye, chief executive of national water agency PUB and executive director of the Environment and Water Industry Development Council.

'The way we strategically manage our water has helped us solve our water problems and gain international recognition.'

A tech convention and trade expo will showcase new research and commercial technology advances. Over 6,000 trade visitors are expected to attend the Water Week.

The inaugural Lee Kuan Yew Water Prize of $300,000, an award certificate and a gold medallion will be given to the individual or organisation that has done the most to alleviate the world's water problems.

Prize nominations, which have been open since last Saturday, will be accepted until Dec 15. Nominations for the international award will be reviewed by a committee of experts and water-industry leaders, who will then recommend finalists to a selection council chaired by Tony Tan, chairman of the Singapore National Research Foundation.

The prize will focus on technology, applications and effective results, said Mr Khoo. Research and the development of new technology are the core of Singapore's water industry.

Last year, the National Research Foundation set down $330 million over the next five years to promote water research. The government hopes to double the number of water industry jobs to 11,000 and increase the contribution to the economy to $1.7 billion by 2015.

For its work on Newater and other projects, PUB was awarded the Stockholm Industry Water Award in May. The award comes after industry research organisation Global Water Intelligence named PUB the Water Agency of the Year last year.
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