UNITED NATIONS - / MaximsNews Network / 19
June 2009 -Dutch
scientist Professor Gatze Lettinga will be in Singapore to receive the
prestigious Lee Kuan Yew
Water Prize award for 2009 during the Singapore International Water Week to be
held from June 22-26,
2009.
A
total of 39 nominations from 19 countries were received for the Water Prize,
covering a wide spectrum
of solutions, including new disciplines in water research and
applications.
Professor
Lettinga emerged as the
winner for his breakthrough–environmentally sustainable solutions for the
treatment of used water
using anaerobic technology. His revolutionary treatment process enables
industrial used water to be purified
cost-effectively and produces renewable energy, fertilizers and soil
conditioners. By choosing not to patent
his invention, he has made his technology universally available.
Professor
Lettinga will deliver the 2nd Singapore Water Lecture on June 23, 2009. He
will receive S$300,000,
an award certificate and a gold medallion during the Lee Kuan Yew Water Prize
2009 Award Ceremony and
Banquet at the Istana on June 24, 2009.
Following
the 2nd Singapore Water Lecture, the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands
will host Professor
Lettinga at a special networking session
on Tuesday, June 23, 2009. This event will be held at the Green
Atlantic Lounge, Suntec, Level 3 from 5.00 -7.00 pm.
Proudly
adding to the Netherlands’ many achievements in the water sector, HE Chris
Sanders, the Dutch Ambassador
to Singapore said that the Dutch have a remarkable tradition when it comes to
managing water. Living in
a Delta area has meant finding ways to cope with a multitude of water-related
risks: from storm surges
to soil subsidence and from rising river levels to groundwater pollution.
“The
experience of living with water has been the principal driving force behind
finding new ways of using as well
as protecting available water resources,” said Mr Sanders. The Netherlands'
innovative solutions to water
problems have countries from all over the globe seeking their expertise, Mr
Sanders went on to say.
Besides
flood control and water engineering, the Dutch are also at the forefront of
developments in wastewater
management, water purification and cutting-edge membrane filtering technology.
Ms
Linnie Mackenzie, Area Director of the Netherlands Foreign Investment Agency (NFIA),
an agency which serves as
a bridge to foster collaborations and international business partnerships,
said that Singapore and
the Netherlands are small nations that face significant challenges in ensuring
the supply and security
of water.
Both
nations, she said, have invested heavily in research and are actively
collaborating to overcome these challenges
through joint projects such as:
•
Singapore’s National Water Agency PUB is working with KIWA Water Research
(Netherlands) on a new osmotic
membrane bioreactor that uses a novel forward osmosis technology to reduce the
cost of producing NEWater.
•
In 2007, Singapore’s Keppel Seghers and TNO (Netherlands Organisation for
Applied Scientific Research
completed a pilot plant to test Memstill®, which makes use of industrial
waste heat to distill seawater
through membranes. In 2008, Keppel Seghers and Water Technology Holland signed
a royalty agreement with
the 9 member consortium to manufacture and market the Memstill®, technology
worldwide.
•
The National University of Singapore, PUB and Delft Hydraulics are partners in
the Singapore Delft Water
Alliance (SDWA), formed in February 2007 to work on water quality modeling and
urban water resource
management. Delft Hydraulics is also involved in water quality modeling for
the Singapore Marina
Reservoir Project.
###
For
more information on the networking session hosted by the Embassy of the
Kingdom of the Netherlands on
June 23, 2009 at 3.30 pm, contact: Netherlands
Foreign Investment Agency (NFIA), Ms
Linnie Mackenzie, Area Director at Tel: +65 6739 1135 or Email: mackenzie@nfia-singapore.com;
Ms Adeline Tan, Project Manager at Tel: +65 6739
1137 or Email: tan@nfia-singapore.com
For
media attendance and interview opportunities: Irene
Gomez, Corporate Media Services at Tel: +65 6327 8825, Mobile: +65 9667 6601.
Email: irene@corpmediapl.com
Or contact: Angela
Sim, Tel: 632 8825 / email: marcom@corpmediapl.com;
Sophia Nasim: Tel: 9817
8686 / email: Sophia@corpmediapl.com
