14 projects to fight rising seas get $22m in grant from PUB

R&D funding will shape S'pore's capabilities in coastal protection, says Goh Hanyan

- Shabana Begum Correspondent

Concrete waste is getting a new lease of life, as a local firm and Nanyang Technological University (NTU) are recycling it into carbon dioxide-storing concrete for seawalls and other coastal protection measures.

A submerged breakwater covered with shells could also become a reality, with two research institutes at the National University of Singapore (NUS) and a consultancy firm developing the structure, which could weaken waves and serve as a new habitat for marine life.

These are two of 14 projects involving companies and academics that have received a total of $22 million in a grant from national water agency PUB to develop innovative solutions for tackling rising seas and floods.

Announcing the grant recipients on Sept 18, Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Sustainability and the Environment Goh Hanyan said: "Our R&D investments will shape Singapore's technical capabilities in coastal protection, developing homegrown expertise within our industry and research community.

"This enables us to develop more innovative and cost-effective solutions that address our distinct coastal challenges... Singapore's urban space constraints and unique wave conditions mean we cannot simply adopt off-the-shelf solutions."

She was speaking at the Coastal Protection and Flood Resilience Institute's (CFI) symposium at NUS.

CFI and the new applied research projects are part of a growing pool of research efforts under PUB's $125 million Coastal Protection and Flood Management Research Programme.