Press releases

SINGAPORE, 27 September 2007 - Second landmark contract in Qatar since the S$1.7 billion (€ 806 million) solid waste contract awarded in late 2006

Keppel Seghers, a member of the Infrastructure division of Keppel Corporation Limited, has been awarded a Design-Build-Operate contract amounting to about QR3.6 billion (approximately S$1.5 billion or 711 million EUR) from ASHGHAL, the Public Works Authority (PWA) in Qatar.

The contract is to design and build the largest greenfield wastewater treatment and water reuse facility in Qatar and the Middle East, and subsequently operate and maintain this facility for 10 years.

Mr Chua Chee Wui, Chief Executive Officer of Keppel Seghers said, “Qatar, under the leadership of the Emir H H Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, has demonstrated great foresight in ensuring sustainable development by investing in environmental infrastructure to support their economic growth. Keppel is proud to work on the highly prestigious Doha North water project, the largest wastewater treatment and water reuse facility in Qatar and in the Middle East.”

Landmark international wastewater treatment and water reuse contract won by a Singapore company

Commenting on the award to Keppel, Dr Yaacob Ibrahim, Minister for the Environment and Water Resources of Singapore said, “This project secured by Keppel is one of the largest water projects that a Singaporean company has won in the international market. This project will also provide an additional avenue to deepen the strong and warm relationship which Singapore enjoys with Qatar.

“The award of this contract to Keppel once again showcases the strong support and commitment of the Singapore Government towards Singapore’s vibrant and growing water industry, and in enabling companies like Keppel to bring Singapore’s proven water and environmental technology as well as technical and operational expertise to the highly competitive global marketplace.”

PUB, the national water agency of Singapore, a statutory board under the Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources, is Keppel's strategic partner in this project. PUB has extensive expertise and over 40 years of experience in water resources management. It had recently received the 2007 Stockholm Industry Water Award, which is PUB’s second international award for good water management. Last year, PUB was named the Water Agency of the Year 2006 by Global Water Intelligence in its annual awards in Dubai.

Largest wastewater and sludge treatment facility in the Middle East

The Doha North facility is expected to be operational in 2010. With peak design capacity to treat wastewater of up to 439,000 cubic metres per day, this will be the largest wastewater treatment and reuse facility in Qatar, more than triple the capacity of the next largest wastewater treatment plant. The Doha North facility will serve a population of over 900,000 when completed. The treated water will be recycled for irrigation needs.

The sludge treatment plant in the Doha North facility will be the only sludge treatment plant in Qatar. It will receive and treat sludge from wastewater treatment plants all over Qatar. The treated sludge can be used as an organic fertilizer or as a supplementary green source of energy.

With its forte in water and thermal recycling, Keppel is able to offer a complete ecologically-friendly design for the Doha North facility. Keppel applied in-house know-how and technology in water and thermal treatment processes, ranging from advanced biological water treatment processes to membrane filtration to produce high quality water for reuse, and thermal drying processes to treat the wastewater sludge. The Doha North facility will have advanced odour control systems to minimise its impact on the surrounding communities.

“We are pleased that our innovative technology proposals for both the water and thermal treatment processes for this project were very highly rated by PWA. This helped us to stand out from the competition. Keppel will continue to invest in our R&D efforts to further strengthen our leadership position in water and thermal recycling technologies.

“We are also very grateful to Sheikh Abdullah bin Ahmed Al-Thani of the General Trading Group (GTG), for introducing Keppel to the Qatari market,” added Mr Chua.

Within the Middle East and Mahgreb region, Keppel has delivered more than 30 water treatment projects. It recently secured two wastewater treatment and water reuse projects in Algeria. Globally, Keppel has more than 400 reference water treatment projects.

The aforementioned contract will not have a significant impact on the net tangible assets and earnings per share of Keppel Corporation Limited for the financial year ending 31 December 2007.


Background Information

Keppel Integrated Engineering (KIE)
KIE is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Keppel Corporation.

Keppel Seghers, a subsidiary of KIE, is a leading provider of comprehensive environmental solutions and services ranging from consultancy, design and engineering, technology and construction to operations and maintenance of facilities, as well as investments (via DBOO or BOO, BOT) in such projects. Its advanced technology solutions address a wide spectrum of environmental issues such as solid waste, wastewater, drinking & process water, biosolids & sludge. In addition, Keppel Seghers offers a full range of environmentally-friendly industry applications for the removal of organic substances from metal parts and tools.

Through its in-house research & development capabilities as well as strategic alliances with global research institutes, KIE is continuously upgrading its technology offerings to its customers and adapting its solutions to suit local conditions and purposes.

Established in 1985, KIE’s subsidiary Keppel FMO provides one-stop integrated facilities management services especially for mission critical facilities. It is one of the largest facilities management service providers in Singapore - with more than 900 full time staff engaged in the management and operations of Aviation facilities, Educational institutions, Healthcare facilities, Manufacturing plants & infrastructure within Hi-Tech parks and Commercial & Purposed-built buildings in Singapore.


Keppel’s presence in Qatar and Middle East
Keppel is among the first Singapore companies to venture into the Middle East market as early as 1995 with the establishment of our joint venture shipyard Arab Heavy Industries in Ajman, United Arab Emirates.

In March 2007, Qatar Gas Transport Company Ltd. (NAKILAT) has signed an agreement with Keppel Offshore & Marine to jointly develop a world-class shipyard facility in the Port of Ras Laffan, Qatar. The shipyard will be suitable for the repair and maintenance of very large LNG carriers and a wide range of other vessels, and the conversion of tankers to Floating Production Storage & Offloading systems (FPSO) and Floating Storage & Offloading (FSO) systems.

Keppel Offshore & Marine has delivered its first jackup drilling rig ahead of time to Qatar’s Gulf Drilling International Ltd in November last year, and is providing drydocking services of a fleet of LNG carriers chartered by Qatargas.

Keppel FMO also has ongoing facilities management contracts at the Doha International Airport in Qatar and is actively pursuing similar opportunities in the Middle East.

For further information, please contact

Teo Chang Ching
Manager
Group Corporate Communications
Tel: (65) 6413 6426
Email: changching.teo@kepcorp.com