Newater centre to close after hosting visitors for over 20 years

It will shut at end of July, along with adjacent Bedok Newater factory

- Ariel Yu

National water agency PUB said the Newater Visitor Centre in Bedok will be closing its doors on July 31, after more than two decades of educating the public about water sustainability and welcoming more than 1.7 million local and international visitors.

Officially opened in February 2003, following the completion of the first Newater plants in Bedok and Kranji, the centre offered the public a way to learn about the ultra-clean, high-grade recycled water through interactive displays, tours, exhibits and workshops.

The adjacent Bedok Newater factory, the oldest Newater production plant launched in the same year, will also cease operations on July 31 upon reaching the end of its operational lifespan, said PUB on June 24.

As part of a guided tour at the Newater Visitor Centre, visitors could observe the process of Newater production at a viewing gallery in the adjoining factory.

The Bedok factory will be replaced by a third Newater factory at the Changi Water Reclamation Plant, slated for completion in 2026.

At its advent, Newater was hailed as a breakthrough that would help Singapore gain water self-sufficiency.

It is one of the four national taps – along with local catchments, imported water and desalinated water – that maintain a sustainable and diversified water supply.