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BUILDING on Singapore's success in the water industry, Nanyang Technological University (NTU) is setting up a research institute to focus on water technology and green solutions.
The Nanyang Environment and Water Research Institute (NEWRI) will boost Singapore's drive to become a global hydrohub.
The institute is one of three initiatives launched on Wednesday by the Minister for Environment and Water Resources Yaacob Ibrahim.
Dr Yaacob also launched two other research centres and awarded three scholarships.
By tapping into a 'wellspring of ideas for research', the institute is an added boost to the green industry, said Dr Yaacob.
Earmarked as a key pillar of economic growth in 2006, the green sector has grown from strength to strength, he said.
In just two years, global water companies - like CH2MHill and Siemens - have already set-up shop here, injecting invaluable expertise in Singapore's R&D push, he noted.
NEWRI executive director Professor Ng Wun Jern said: 'We function as an eco-system, with different entities working together to pursue a common vision of environmental research.'
'Our mission is to meet industry demand.'
The other two centres under the NEWRI banner are the Singapore Membrane Technology Centre (SMTC) and the DHI-NTU Water & Environment Research Centre & Education Hub (DHI-NTU Centre).
Helmed by Professor Anthony Fane, the SMTC will focus its research on the use of membranes in water treatment.
'We hope to build on the existing success of Singapore's water technology,' said the former director of the Unesco Centre for Membrane Science.
The centres, along with six others under NEWRI's purview, will focus on environmental and water research, including urban water management and solid waste management.
Also high on the agenda is deepening the pool of PhD students through training and education programmes.
The two centres hope to produce some 30 PhD students over the next five years.
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