Water scarcity is one of the major issues being faced by member countries of the ASEAN. Singapore, which lacks natural water resources, relies heavily on imports from Malaysia to meet demand. Indonesia also experiences water scarcity as its groundwater aquifers are fast depleting and only 70 per cent of its population has access to potable water. Malaysia, on the other hand, is plagued by both poor water quality and high consumption issues although it has abundant water resources. Rapid urbanisation has resulted in the supply of potable water falling short of demand. The Kingdom of Thailand is also coping with water crises as surface and ground water resources are getting contaminated due to pollution. The majority of the ASEAN countries, thus, are facing acute water shortages, which necessitate adequate and timely measures. These measures involve upgrading and expanding existing water supply systems, developing new water sources such as desalination plants, building new dams and reservoirs, and replacing and rehabilitating pipelines to ensure equitable access to water.

The good news is that most of the city governments have realised the importance of undertaking measures to curb water scarcity issues and are implementing several infrastructure projects to boost the region’s existing water supply capacity.

Singapore

The Public Utility Board (PUB), Singapore, is responsible for ensuring adequate water supply in the region. To achieve self-sufficiency, it is creating new and upgrading existing water supply infrastructure in the country. One such project is the fifth desalination plant at Jurong Island, which is expected to add 30 million gallons per day (mgd) of water to the existing supply. The plant is being executed on a public-private partnership (PPP) basis and is expected to cost $282.28 million. A consortium, consisting of Tuas Power Limited and Singapore Technologies Marine Limited (TP-STM), has been appointed as the concessionaire for the project. For its execution, a concession company called TP-STM Water Resources Pte Limited has been incorporated.

Another desalination plant is being constructed in Keppel Marina East. It also has the capacity for treating 30 mgd of seawater and freshwater sourced from the Marina reservoir. The contract for the project has been awarded to Keppel Infrastructure Holdings Pte Limited on a design-build-own-operate basis. Recently, in June 2018, Nitto Denko Corporation was awarded the contract to supply reverse osmosis membranes for the plant. The plant will be capable of generating 137,000 million cubic metres per day of clean water and will meet up to 30 per cent of the city-state’s water demand by 2060.

Both the plants are currently under construction and are likely to be completed by 2020.

Malaysia

Malaysia is endowed with abundant water resources, which are the lifeline to its population of approximately 32 million. Besides, raw water from these resources is supplied to Singapore through water tunnels. However, a rapidly increasing population has created additional demand for potable water in Malaysia. The government is taking several measures to meet this growing demand. For instance, a major water grid project for stressed areas in the state of Sarawak is being taken up. As part of the project, a total of 222 projects at 217 locations have been identified for implementation. The key components under these projects include construction of treatment plants for treating water from raw water resources, upgradation of the water distribution network, rehabilitation and replacement of water supply pipelines, management of non-revenue water, modernisation of existing infrastructure and execution of the Sarawak Alternative Water Supply Project (Sawas) for isolated rural areas that cannot be connected to the existing water supply system.

As of October 2018, the work on five packages under the Sawas project has been completed. As part of the five packages, three advanced technologies – ultrafiltration, reverse osmosis and inclined plate clarifier – have been deployed to treat the water that is being supplied to 22 villages comprising 572 households in Sarawak. Further, work on 24 components under Phase I of the water grid project is currently under implementation. The entire project is expected to involve a total investment of RM 8 billion. Of this, RM 2 billion has been allocated for the current financial year, 2018-19. The project is likely to be completed within a period of five years. The overall objective of the project is to expand water supply coverage in the state to 100 per cent from the existing 81 per cent by 2025.

Another ambitious project, the Papar dam at Kg Bisuang that is expected to entail an investment of RM 2 billion, has been planned as a long-term measure to address water woes plaguing the west coast of Sabah.

Indonesia

Indonesia has set a national target to provide universal access to water supply by 2019, ahead of the 2030 deadline set under the sustainable development goals. To achieve this goal, the Indonesian government is implementing the National Urban Water Supply Project. The project aims to provide piped water supply to about 6 million households and improve the coverage of water supply in underserved urban areas. Recently, in June 2018, the Indonesian government received a World Bank loan of $100 million to execute the project. As of November 2018, work on the project is yet to begin.

To further improve the existing water supply scenario in Jakarta, Perusahaan Daerah Air Minum, the city’s municipal water company, is developing a water supply system in Semarang in Central Java. The contract for the project was awarded to a joint venture of PT Aetra Air Jakarta, a subsidiary of Moya Holdings Asia, and PT Medco Gas Indonesia in September 2018 on a PPP basis. As part of the project, a water supply system, consisting of a new water treatment plant facility, a transmission pipeline, one main reservoir and two distribution reservoirs, will be developed. Work is expected to begin by April 2019 and is scheduled to be completed within a period of two years. The estimated project cost is $83.26 million (Rp 1.1 trillion).

Philippines

The Philippines also faces water scarcity due to a large proportion of non-revenue water and extreme weather conditions. Natural water resources are shrinking and the water level in the Angat dam, from which about 97 per cent of raw water is drawn by Metro Manila, is receding. To improve water security, the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) continues to implement various programmes such as the augmentation of the Angat dam and developing additional potable drinking water systems. One such project is the Kaliwa dam project, planned to be developed in Quezon province. It is part of the New Centennial Water Source Project and will have the capacity to store 600 million litres per day (mld) of fresh water.  A water supply tunnel having 2,400 mld capacity will also be developed as part of the project. The project will involve a total investment of around PhP 12.2 billion and take more than five years to complete.

With regard to financing, official development assistance will be provided by the Chinese government. Three Chinese contractors – China Engineering Corporation Limited, Guandong Foreign Construction Consortium and Guandong Engineering Limited – have already evinced interest in executing the project. It is currently in the bidding stage and is expected to be completed by 2023.

The MWSS is also planning to develop another dam, the Laiban dam, at the Kaliwa river. Other key water supply projects under implementation include the Rizal Province Water Supply Improvement Project, the Angat Water Transmission Improvement Project, the Bulacan Bulk Water Supply Project and the Sumag Diversion and Relocation Project.

Thailand

According to estimates of the National Water Development Agency, the demand for water in the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) of Bangkok will increase to 800 million cubic metres in 2027 and further to 1 billion cubic metres in 2036, up from the existing demand of 325 million cubic metres.

As the region currently supplies only 427 million cubic metres, there is need to augment the existing water supply infrastructure. In February 2018, the government approved a water development plan for the EEC. The water plan will be implemented in two phases with each phase involving a 10-year development period. The first 10-year development plan includes upgradation works for six existing reservoirs to increase water supply by 75 million cubic metres and the development of three new reservoirs to provide an additional 308 million cubic metres of water. The entire 10-year plan is expected to entail a cost of BHT 1 billion.

In October 2018, the government approved the Lam Sa Pung reservoir project. It will entail a cost of about BHT 3.1 billion. It is expected that the project will help ease water shortage during the dry season and prevent flooding during the wet season in Nong Bua Daeng district of Chaiyaphum province in Thailand. The reservoir will have the capacity to store 46.9 million cubic metres of fresh water.

Conclusion

To conclude, dedicated and collaborative efforts from all countries in the region are needed to tackle the prevailing water supply shortages in the ASEAN region. This collaboration can be either in the form of technology transfer agreements between ASEAN countries, particularly those with interconnected water resources, or by setting up joint ventures with private companies having advanced technologies and solutions. Besides, easy availability of long-term funds and greater private sector participation will be essential for timely implementation of existing and new water supply projects. Lastly, for realising the aim of universal access to water supply, greater investment needs to be channelised towards rural areas that severely lack water supply coverage.