Black & Veatch picks up deals in Hong Kong and Singapore

Consultant, Black & Veatch, has won contracts to provide key roles in two planned desalination projects in Hong Kong and Singapore. Both projects, according to Black & Veatch, will set new design and energy-use benchmarks for water treatment plants.

“We have partnered with Singapore and Hong Kong water utilities on some of the world’s most innovative water engineering solutions,” said president of Black & Veatch’s water business, Cindy Wallis-Lage.

“Both desalination projects are further examples of how these leading Asian cities are applying progressive thinking to secure future water supplies for their people,” she added.

In Hong Kong, the government’s water supplies department has appointed Black & Veatch as the owner’s engineer to develop the first stage of the protectorate’s Tseung Kwan O desalination plant. Its initial capacity will be 180 Ml/d which will meet about 5% of Hong Kong’s water demand. Black & Veatch recently completed the plant’s feasibility study which identified opportunities to harness green energy and reduce electricity costs.

Black & Veatch will design and provide construction supervision across the first phase of the desalination plant. A second phase, also with a capacity of 180 Ml/d is planned.
  
For Singapore’s Marina East plant the antional water agency, PUB, has appointed Black & Veatch to provide consultancy services for the country’s fourth desalination plant. The 180 Ml/d plant will strengthen Singapore’s drought resilience.
 
The plant will be designed to treat seawater from the Singapore Straits or raw water from the Marina Reservoir. Black & Veatch’s initial role will include the preliminary design under a design-build-own-operate (DBOO) arrangement. The request for proposal for the development of this desalination plant will be made in the second quarter of 2016. Black & Veatch will continue to provide services to PUB throughout the plant’s development.
 
More than 70% of Hong Kong’s water comes from the Dongjiang river basin in Southern China, with the rest coming from local catchments. While Hong Kong domestic water consumption per capita is high, the cost to end users is low so there is little incentive to reduce use.