CASE STUDY 17 Targeted financing, multi-stakeholder collaboration and policy frameworks to drive innovation and resilience in Singapore’s water and affiliated sectors Organizations: Singapore’s National Water Agency (PUB) and National Environment Agency (NEA). Description: The government of Singapore and affiliated agencies including the National Water Agency (commonly known as PUB) have implemented mechanisms that foster and enable innovation and growth in the water sector. Such mechanisms include targeted financing for R&D, collaborations with agencies to increase resource recovery and efficiency at the facility level and policy mechanisms to drive innovation in water resilience. Targeted financing: in 2022, the government of Singapore allocated $161.5 million for water technologies and resource circularity. This funding was under the Research, Innovation and Enterprise 2025 Urban Solutions & Sustainability (USS) domain; $63.8 million was allocated to three water technology focus areas: (1) desalination and water reuse, (2) used-water treatment and (3) waste reduction and resource recovery. The funds allocated to water will support the Nanyang Environment and Water Research Institute (NEWRI) and the Separation Technologies Applied Research and Translation (START) initiative, which are part of PUB’s centres of excellence programme. This financing aims to increase research and innovation, green growth, private sector R&D spending, job creation and technology spin-offs in water and affiliated sectors. Resource recovery: PUB is partnering with NEA for the construction of Tuas Nexus, Singapore’s first integrated water and waste treatment facility for energy and resource recovery. The facility will be equipped to receive domestic and industrial used water; it will incorporate advanced physical, biological and chemical treatment processes and house one of the largest membrane bioreactor facilities. Policy for water resilience: in 2023, PUB introduced new mandatory minimum recycling requirements to increase water efficiency in water-intensive industries and advance water resilience and environmental sustainability in non-domestic sectors. These new requirements are mandated for new projects in water fabrication, electronics and biomedical industries, effective from 1 January 2024. Sources: See endnotes.106,107,108 Water Futures: Mobilizing Multi-Stakeholder Action for Resilience 40

Water Futures Mobilizing Multi Stakeholder Action for Resilience 2025