Date- 10 July Time- 12:30 PM Cat- Sustainability
The 10th edition of the Singapore International Water Week (SIWW) concluded on June 22 at the Sands Expo & Convention Centre, marking a historic milestone with unprecedented attendance and participation. This biennial event, one of the world’s largest, witnessed a record-breaking turnout of over 24,000 water and city leaders, delegates, and trade visitors from around the globe. The event provided a platform for exchanging knowledge, sharing best practices, fostering collaborations, and creating new business opportunities to address urban water and associated climate challenges.
Ryan Yuen, Managing Director of SIWW, highlighted the significance of this year’s event. “SIWW this year marked a major achievement for us. It saw the largest gathering yet with 500 water and city leaders, including over 50 CEOs, representing major urban centres such as New York City, Tokyo, Dhaka, Copenhagen, Rotterdam, Sao Paolo, Chennai, Johannesburg, Sydney, Manila, and Hong Kong, convening at a single global platform. Their discussions centred on hot-button issues from water sustainability, net zero and decarbonisation, to digitalisation and coastal and flood resilience, aimed at driving effective climate action,” he said. “With SIWW2024, we are pleased to be taking our partnership with Messe Munich forward, and through the IFAT global network, present an impactful SIWW Water Expo and delivery of high-quality content across our flagship programmes in editions to come.”
The Water Expo, a cornerstone of SIWW, emerged as the preeminent marketplace for the latest urban water technologies, innovations, and solutions for municipal and industrial water users in Southeast Asia. The Expo, organised in cooperation with IFAT under a 10-year agreement with Messe Munich’s subsidiary MMI Asia, spanned 22,000 gross square meters over two floors and saw a 35% share of international trade visitors, with significant increases from Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam, and Thailand.
The Expo also showcased a diverse international presence, with 51% of exhibiting companies coming from 29 countries and regions beyond Singapore. Notable among these were eight country and regional pavilions, including the largest Singapore Pavilion in its 15-year history and pavilions from Australia, Canada, China, Flanders, Germany, South Korea, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. These pavilions featured state-of-the-art solutions and technologies, reflecting the growing trend of global water companies seeking business opportunities in the ASEAN region.
Michael Wilton, CEO & Managing Director of MMI Asia, praised the event’s success. “SIWW2024 showed impressive results in bringing together global stakeholders needed to support the industry’s transformation in closing the loop for water circularity and supporting climate resilience. The Water Expo continues to be the number one platform for trade visitors, city and utility leaders as well as industry players seeking answers to the varying water challenges. Through Messe Munich’s partnership with Singapore International Water Week, we look forward to hosting even more exhibitors of technological solutions, innovations, and best practices in the next edition of this global event.”
According to Frost & Sullivan, Southeast Asian countries are aligning their water policies and projects with the EU’s green taxonomy, addressing climate change mitigation and adaptation, large-scale digitalisation, sustainable water use, and transitioning to a circular economy. This year’s Water Expo reflected these trends by expanding into new growth areas such as coastal protection, decarbonisation, and digitalisation, showcasing best-in-class products and services tailored for cities, utilities, and industries in the region.
Exhibitors offered a wide range of solutions, with over half focusing on water and sewage treatment, water supply and sewage systems, and water supply and sewage disposal systems. Countries like the Philippines are developing more localised water production projects, such as Maynilad Water Services’ water reclamation plant, which produces 10 million litres daily of direct potable water. Meanwhile, Malaysia’s Air Selangor and Singapore’s PUB are implementing smart water meters to reduce non-revenue water (NRW) loss and optimise water supply infrastructure.
The Water Expo also featured smart tech, water digitalisation solutions, coastal protection, and flood resilience technologies to help city and utility leaders tackle challenges posed by rapid urbanisation and extreme weather events. Indonesia’s 100 Smart Cities scheme aims to implement smart water grids, while other regional utilities like Manila Water Company and Maynilad are expanding holistic analytics platforms for network asset management.
