Debated in Parliament on 6 Aug 2018.
Assoc Prof Daniel Goh Pei Siong asked the Minister for the Environment and Water Resources whether the debt and business reorganisation of Hyflux Ltd will affect Singapore's water system and water security.
The Public Utilities Board's (PUB’s) key interest is to safeguard Singapore's water security and confidence in our water supply. There are two desalination plants that Hyflux is involved in under a Design, Build, Own and Operate arrangement. One is the SingSpring Desalination Plant, which is majority owned by Keppel Infrastructure Trust with Hyflux owning a minority stake. This plant is not affected by Hyflux's recent debt and business reorganisation.
The other plant, the Tuaspring Desalination Plant, wholly owned by Tuaspring Pte Ltd, a subsidiary of Hyflux, is affected by the reorganisation, but continues to supply desalinated water to PUB.
Hyflux, Tuaspring and its creditor are currently in discussion on the potential divestment of Tuaspring. As this is a commercial matter, it will not be appropriate for my Ministry to comment further. Nonetheless, we are monitoring developments closely. Members of the House can be assured that there are adequate measures in place to ensure the plant remains in operation. Any divestment has to be approved by PUB.
Water supply is an existential issue and is one which PUB treats with the utmost seriousness. Water supply infrastructure is planned well into the future and investments made ahead of demand. We just opened our latest desalination plant, Tuas Desalination Plant, in June 2018. More water supply infrastructure is being constructed over the next few years. We will not allow the security of our water supply to be affected.
PAPERCUTS