Singapore’s Hyflux Ltd announced on 14 June 2012 that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Hydrochem (S) Pte Ltd, has agreed a US$ 14.4 million loan with the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) for the purchase of key components for the Tuaspring Desalination Plant in Singapore.
Components to be bought with this credit are seawater reverse-osmosis (SWRO) membrane elements manufactured by Toray Industries Inc and high-pressure pumps manufactured by Torishima Pump Mfg Co Ltd. These will be purchased from Mitsui & Co Plant Systems Ltd.
This loan is cofinanced by Mizuho Corporate Bank Ltd, while Nippon Export & Investment Insurance will provide the buyer’s credit insurance for the cofinanced portion.
The loan is the first of its kind extended by JBIC to Hyflux Group following their memorandum of understanding on global collaboration on water projects signed in August 2009. It is also the first time that a buyer’s credit loan has been secured for components for a Hyflux project.
“With this first buyer’s credit loan secured by Hyflux Group, we believe there will be more opportunities for Hyflux and JBIC to collaborate on global water projects,” said Olivia Lum, executive chairman and group CEO of Hyflux.
Hyflux was awarded the design, build, own and operate contract for Singapore’s second SWRO project in March 2011. Tuaspring Desalination Plant, which is designed to produce 318,500 m³/d of desalinated water, will employ Hyflux’s proprietary ultrafiltration membrane technology for pretreatment and a double-pass RO process.