In operation since June 2021, KMEDP is one of the first in the world with a dual-mode facility. The plant will produce 30 million gallons of clean water every day, enough for 7% of Singapore’s daily water demand. It has also been designed sustainably in that the treatment facility is underground, freeing up 20,000m2 of green rooftop and community recreation space.
Singapore's water comes from four sources; reservoir water, imported water from Malaysia, ultra-clean, high-grade reclaimed water (branded NEWater in Singapore) and desalinated water. Desalination therefore plays a strategic role in Singapore's vision for a diversified and sustainable supply of water and is expected to meet up to 30% of water demand by 2060. Yet desalination is an energy-intensive process, so a modern method is needed to boost efficiency and sustainability.
Located at the Marina East area of Singapore, the KMEDP, about twice the size of a football field, can either draw water from the surrounding sea during periods of dry weather or treat water from the Marina Reservoir during periods with heavy rain. With the plant’s dual intakes, when the water level in the reservoir is low, sea water can be pumped into the plant to be desalinated. When the reservoir water levels are high, the plant can treat water from the reservoir. The option to switch to treating reservoir water results in more effective water use, operational flexibility and optimised operational costs, as reservoir water treatment consumes only one-third the energy required for seawater desalination.
The plant is operating with a host of technology from ABB including automation and control systems as well as instrumentation and water analysers. With ABB’s supply of motors, variable speed drives and switchgears, together with process optimization aimed at increasing efficiency, the gains to be realized could potentially help reduce electricity consumption by up to 40%. A range of smart sensors and water-monitoring equipment is also being used in the plant.
KMEDP’s plantwide control systems are unified under an ABB Ability System 800xA distributed control system, a user-friendly digital platform that gives engineers wide visibility and precise control from a central command centre. The intelligent and integrated solution allows uniformity of procedures and helps improve quality of operational processes. Data is seamlessly transferred from field instruments to the control system for analysis and diagnostics. With its fully digital-ready control system, the plant’s operations can be extended from device to edge to cloud.
KMEDP is operated by Keppel Seghers Pte. Ltd, a subsidiary of Keppel Infrastructure Holdings Pte. Ltd. The Design-Build-Own-Operate project (DBOO) was initiated by Public Utilities Board (PUB), Singapore’s national water agency, which manages the country’s water supply.