Tuas Newater plant to boost production to 75 million gallons a day

Newater's role as reliable, weather-resilient national tap remains crucial, says Grace Fu

- Ariel Yu

Singapore is ramping up its production of Newater by 50 million gallons a day with the expansion of the upcoming Tuas Newater Factory, as it anticipates an increase in demand for water in the future.

National water agency PUB announced on Sept 27 that it will launch a construction tender for the expansion, which will increase the factory's initial production capacity of 25 million gallons a day to 75 million gallons a day.

Singapore's water demand is expected to almost double by 2065, so Newater's role as a reliable and weather-resilient national tap remains crucial, said Minister for Sustainability and the Environment Grace Fu.

Singapore uses about 440 million gallons of water a day. Newater could meet up to 40 per cent of the nation's water needs, according to PUB in 2018.

Singapore's other sources of water are desalination plants, imported water from Malaysia (up to 250 million gallons a day), and water from local catchments.

The Tuas Newater Factory will be integrated with the Tuas Water Reclamation Plant, which is currently under construction and expected to be operational in 2026, as reported in September 2023.

Its new capacity of 75 million gallons a day is equivalent to 136 Olympic-size swimming pools.

PUB is currently transitioning to a new used water management system, where used water will be sent to three water reclamation plants in the northern, western and eastern regions in Singapore via the Deep Tunnel Sewerage System - a 206km-long network of deep tunnels.