Green City, Best Home

The Urban Sustainability R&D Congress, organised by the Ministry of National Development (MND) with 16 other government agencies, will be held over two days from 29 June 2017 at the Suntec Singapore Convention and Exhibition Centre. Guest of Honour for the Opening Ceremony Mr Lawrence Wong, Minister for National Development and Second Minister for Finance announced several key initiatives in support of R&D efforts at the Congress today. The initiatives include:

Cities of Tomorrow R&D Programme –

The Cities of Tomorrow R&D Programme (CoT) is a $150 million initiative that aims to build a highly liveable, sustainable and resilient city of the future. A multi-agency effort led by MND, the programme’s vision will be achieved through integrated development of R&D in 4 key verticals, namely, a) Advanced Construction, b) Resilient Infrastructure, c) New Spaces, and d) Greater Sustainability. The CoT R&D Programme will be a collective effort where stakeholders from industry, research community, and government will come together to work in tandem to develop innovative R&D solutions to address key challenges such as climate change, ageing infrastructure, resource constraints and demand for space. More details on Cities of Tomorrow R&D Programme are provided in Annex A.

Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between Housing & Development Board (HDB), Imperial College London (ICL), and Institute for Infocomm Research (I2R) –

HDB, ICL, and I2R will be signing a MOU to embark on a research project to expand the capabilities of sensor networks, and strengthen the use of analytics and predictive modelling for better planning and resource optimisation in urban environments. The collaboration will bring together the technical expertise and knowhow of HDB with the research excellence of ICL and I2R, to develop a new range of capabilities to sense, monitor, model, predict, and manage diverse data, urban systems and activities. This will help to optimise estate maintenance and enhance the quality of the living environment.

More than 1000 participants from government agencies, research institutes and private companies will be expected to attend the two-day Congress. The theme “Green City, Best Home” outlines the aim of this year’s Congress to focus on integrated R&D solutions at the land-energy-water nexus. This is in support of the national Research, Innovation and Enterprise 2020 (RIE2020) Urban Solutions and Sustainability domain’s efforts to create a sustainable and quality living environment for Singaporeans. In line with this, we have an expanded list of partners as co-organisers, including the Public Utilities Board (PUB), Energy Market Authority (EMA), and National Climate Change Secretariat (NCCS).

Minister for National Development’s R&D Awards 2017

Minister Lawrence Wong also presented the Minister for National Development’s R&D Awards to five outstanding projects that have contributed towards MND’s vision of making Singapore “An Endearing Home, A Distinctive Global City”. The winners for the Minister for National Development’s R&D Awards are:

Distinguished Award

URA’s project (In collaboration with I2R/A*STAR) – “Development of GIS-Enabled Mapping, Modelling and Analysis (GEMMA) to enhance planning processes and deliver better planning outcomes in Singapore” was highlighted for its collaborative ability which allows planners across agencies to come together to do land-use scenario studies and infrastructure staging plans. Land-use planning can now be done much faster, and with deeper insights.

Merit Award

HDB’s project (In collaboration with EDF and Veolia) – “Complex System Modelling Tool for HDB Towns” was commended for its significant impact on enhancing the liveability of HDB towns. Through simulations on a single integrated platform, HDB can now more accurately assess the trade-offs involved when faced with a myriad of green initiatives. This allows HDB to assess the collective effectiveness that different initiatives could contribute towards sustainability, while balancing the costs and manpower involved.

Merit Award

LTA’s project (In collaboration with NUS) – “Jagged Edge Profile for Cantilevered Noise Barriers” was lauded for reducing perceivable noise levels by up to 30% as compared to LTA’s conventional noise barriers. Besides being able to lower noise levels, the innovative design has also allowed LTA to achieve better coverage in terms of noise reduction by up to 3 times the height of the noise barrier. This cost effective and easily scalable design has already been implemented at LTA work sites along the East Coast stretch of the Thomson-East Coast Line.

Special Mention

HDB’s project (In collaboration with NTU, NUS, Ngee Ann Polytechnic and Singapore Polytechnic) – “A Biophilic Waterway@Punggol – Innovative Floating Wetlands and Freshwater-Tolerant Mangroves” was commended for its far-reaching ability to protect riverbanks, improve water quality and promote biodiversity. Since the implementation of the initiatives, a total of 92 bird species, 11 butterfly species and 17 dragonfly species have flourished along the Waterway. Monthly tests conducted at the waterway showed that the wetland plants, together with the freshwater-tolerant mangroves, can improve water quality by up to 30 per cent.

Special Mention

JTC’s project – “J-Ops”, an integrated smart estate and building operations system, was commended for reducing energy usage, improving the comfort of tenants, and increasing productivity and efficiency in the management of facilities, without substantially increasing manpower and costs for facilities management and maintenance.

More details on the Minister for National Development’s R&D Awards and winning projects are provided in Annex B.

Sembcorp-Energy Market Authority (EMA) Energy Challenge

Minister Lawrence Wong will be meeting with more than 30 teams participating at the Sembcorp-EMA Energy Challenge. These comprise over 130 engineering students from various local Institutes of Higher Learning, including ITE colleges, polytechnics and universities. The teams will compete in a simulation game competition (“Power Quest”) to tackle real-life energy issues faced by Power sector professionals in their course of work. More information about the various collaborations in R&D, technology and youth engagement between EMA and Sembcorp can be found in Annex C.

For more information on the Urban Sustainability R&D Congress, please visit http://www.mnd.gov.sg/urbansustainability/index.html.