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Singapore project is first in Asia to win environmental prize rarely given outside US
A NEW man-made waterway in Punggol New Town has won a top international award for Singapore, a first by an Asian country for an environmentally sustainable project.
The Grand Prize for Excellence by the American Academy of Environmental Engineers (AAEE) is rarely given to projects outside the United States.
My Waterway @ Punggol known to some as the ‘Venice of Singapore’, clinched the prize for environmental engineering in the environmental sustainability category, said the Housing Board (HDB) yesterday.
Opened five months ago, the $225 million waterway – Singapore’s longest – took 21/2 years to build and is the pride and joy of the country’s youngest HDB town.
What struck the judges is the way it has integrated three key design elements – Green, Water and People – to achieve a long-term balance of environmental stewardship, economic development and social well-being.
In fact, green practices were adopted right from the start of its construction, with HDB engineers using a ‘cut- and-fill’ method to fill the low-lying areas around the waterway with excavated earth.
Also, features such as boardwalks, footbridges and areas around the plaza were built with recycled materials. To get good quality water, eco-drains were one of the innovations introduced to ensure surface run- off water is cleaned before entering the waterway.
Recognising that Singapore’s people make a difference, the waterway features not only social communal spaces but also seeks to celebrate Singapore’s heritage with its Kelong bridge.
The bridge’s architecture is reminiscent of stilt houses – wooden offshore platforms that fishermen built in the past for fishing and sometimes, housing.
Said HDB deputy chief executive officer Sng Cheng Keh, who received the award in Washington, DC, this week: ‘Winning this award is testament to Singapore’s small contribution towards being responsible global citizens by constructing an environmentally friendly waterway.’
Source: 28th April 2012 Straits Times