Keppelite news

Keppel Corporation has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) to participate as an equity investor in the Singapore consortium for the Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-City project. QIA’s participation is subject to definitive agreements to be mutually agreed.

The MOU was signed by Mr Hussain Al-Abdulla, Board Member of QIA and Mr Lim Chee Onn, Executive Chairman of Keppel Corporation on the occasion of Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong’s official visit to Doha at the invitation of the Heir Apparent of Qatar, His Highness Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani. It was SM Goh who first mooted the project with the Chinese government in April 2007.

“We are very pleased that the Qatar Investment Authority, our first partner in the Singapore Consortium, has accepted the invitation to participate in this landmark project,” said Mr Lim.

“The Eco-City project is envisioned to be a thriving, self-sustainable development that integrates society, the economy and the environment harmoniously to create an optimal setting for ‘live-work-play’.”

It will serve as a model of sustainable development that is practical, replicable and scalable with many opportunities for international collaboration, drawing together world-class organisations to build green communities for the future.

The 30-sq km Eco-City site straddles the districts of Hangu and Tanggu, and is located within a designated resort and recreation zone in Tianjin’s Binhai New Area. The entire project will be developed in phases with the initial phase comprising an area of about 3 sq km.


LAYING THE FOUNDATION FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

The event also marked another milestone for Keppel since the award of the QR3.6 billion (S$1.5 billion) Doha North Sewage Treatment Works (DNSTW) project in September 2007 to Keppel Seghers, the environmental engineering division of Keppel Corporation.

The Doha plant, when completed in 2010, will be the largest wastewater recycling and sludge treatment facility in Qatar and the Middle East.

The foundation stone was unveiled by Eng Zayed Mansour Al-Khayarin, CEO of Ashghal, the Public Works Authority (PWA) in Qatar and Mr Lim in the presence of SM Goh and HE Finance Minister Sheikh Yousef Hussein Kamal.

Mr Chua Chee Wui, CEO of Keppel Seghers, said, “We believe that the Doha North project offers Keppel a unique opportunity to contribute towards the realisation of Qatar’s vision of sustainable development.”

Keppel also unveiled a concept proposal at the ceremony to transform and enhance the surrounding area of Doha North Sewage Treatment Works into an EcoPark.

Blending in with the natural contours, the proposed EcoPark will be the first-of-its-kind to showcase breakthrough ideas on sustainable and resource-conscious development. Treated water from the Doha North facility will irrigate the EcoPark to provide a green space for the local community to learn, work and play.

About Doha North Sewage Treatment Works (DNSTW)

The Doha North Sewage Treatment Works is expected to be operational in 2010. With peak design capacity to treat wastewater of up to 439,000 cubic metres per day, this will be the largest wastewater treatment and reuse facility in Qatar, more than triple the capacity of the next largest wastewater treatment plant.

The sludge treatment plant in the DNSTW will be the only sludge treatment plant in Qatar. It will receive and treat sludge from wastewater treatment plants all over Qatar. The treated sludge can be used as an organic fertiliser or as a supplementary green source of energy.

Keppel will apply in-house know-how and technology in water and thermal treatment processes, ranging from advanced biological water treatment processes to membrane filtration to produce high quality water for reuse, and thermal drying processes to treat the wastewater sludge. The DNSTW will have advanced odour control systems to minimise its impact on the surrounding communities.