The Singapore International Water Week (SIWW) 2024 emphasized flood mitigation and coastal protection, featuring global stakeholder exchanges and the announcement of new research projects under the Coastal Protection and Flood Resilience Institute (CFI) Singapore.
Singapore, 20 June 2024 – The Singapore International Water Week (SIWW) 2024 highlighted flood mitigation and coastal protection, emphasizing climate adaptation. This year’s event facilitated exchanges among global stakeholders on best practices in these critical areas.
At the Coastal and Flood Resilience Leaders’ Summit, the announcement of the second tranche of research projects under the Coastal Protection and Flood Resilience Institute (CFI) Singapore took center stage. Eight new projects were awarded, covering a range of research areas such as coastal environment monitoring, impact simulations, coastal engineering solutions, and nature-based defense approaches.
James Lam, Executive Director of Coastal Engineering and Management at Surbana Jurong Consultants, chaired the committee overseeing these projects. The committee included leaders from local companies like HSL Constructor, Woh Hup, and UpConverge, as well as international firms such as Ramboll, China Communication Construction Company, and Delta Marine Consultants.
The Singapore Water Association (SWA) announced the launch of a new coastal protection chapter to foster collaboration among companies and support the development of coastal protection infrastructure. This initiative aims to link Singapore’s coastal protection and flood management industry with international networks to enhance knowledge sharing and collaboration.
In conjunction with the new chapter, SWA will sign a tripartite Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with CFI Singapore and the Forum for Climate Change Adaptation (FCCA). This MoU aims to bring together expertise from both industry and academia, strengthening collaboration.
Additionally, Singapore’s national water agency, PUB, has launched an open Request-for-Proposal (RFP) to find solutions for coastal protection and flood management. This RFP, part of the Coastal Protection and Flood Management Research Programme established in 2023, focuses on sustainable materials, smart structural health monitoring, adaptive planning, innovative solutions, and sediment transport sensors.
Given Singapore’s extensive coastline of over 300 km, the RFP emphasizes the need for sustainable construction materials durable enough for long-term coastal protection. The grant call is open to Institutes of Higher Learning (IHLs), public sector entities, and private sector companies based in Singapore. Proposals must be submitted through the official application portal by 6 August 2024, at 4 pm Singapore time.
Source – Water & WasteWater Asia
