ST Engineering to develop S$22.6mln Tianjin Eco-City's waste collection system

Pneumatic waste collection system's eco-feature designed and built to meet the Tianjin Eco-City's green building standards.

ST Engineering announced on Wednesday that its environmental engineering subsidiary in China, ST Environment Services & Technologies Ltd (STE&T) has been awarded a RMB113m (about S$22.6m) contract to provide a proprietary loop-based Pneumatic Waste Collection System (PWCS) to collect recyclables, non-recyclables and food waste in Tianjin's Eco-City's Eco-Business Park. The deal is inked with Tianjin Eco-City Sheng Chuang Investment & Development Co. Ltd (Sheng Chuang), a wholly owned company of Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-City Investment and Development Co. Ltd (SSTEC), the master developer of the 30-square kilometres Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-City, as mentioned in an ST Engineering report.

The project is the fruition of an MOU that STE&T signed with SSTEC about a year ago to explore collaboration in the provision of a PWCS f or the Eco-Business Park. Contracted on a design, build, own, operate, and transfer (DBOOT) business model, the construction period is estimated to be 18 months, beginning from 1 October 2010, followed by an Operations and Maintenance period of 13 years. Under this DBOOT model, the ownership of the facility will subsequently be transferred to Sheng Chuang.

PWCS is a practical and tested waste-recycling eco-feature which will be designed and built to meet the Tianjin Eco-City's green building standards. The technology used in the PWCS reduces exposure of solid waste to the environment, enhances overall living environment and promotes recycling in daily life as the system allows collection of multiple streams of waste at any one time. Using both vacuum and pressure to transport waste from disposal points to the collection station, the underground pipeline system offers a cleaner and odourless living environment as the air in the system is re-circulated with minimal exhaust. The system's collection pipeline proprietary design of pipe elbows and bends allows better conveyance of glass and metal waste. In addition, the system has an automatic air flushing and drying mechanism which works by forcing air at a higher air speed through the pipes, thereby cleaning and drying them at the same time with each waste stream.

"We are delighted to be a stakeholder in the development of this flagship project between China and Singapore and partnering the master developer, SSTEC which is developing the Tianjin Eco-City into a model city of the future. This Design, Build, Own, Operate and Transfer mode of contracting demonstrates the forward looking mindset of SSTEC and we look forward to the completion of the project as a showcase of our environmental engineering forte in innovative, cost effective and sustainable environmental engineering solutions, " Ng Sing Chan, President, ST Marine said.