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Sembcorp has been named the Water Company of the Year at Global Water Intelligence (GWI)'s 2011 Global Water Awards.

The top honour at the prestigious Global Water Awards, announced in Berlin last night, recognises the water company that has made “the most significant contribution to the development of the international water sector in 2010”. Sembcorp's wholly-owned energy and water arm, Sembcorp Utilities, beat other international water players to clinch the prestigious title.

Besides winning the top award, Sembcorp also clinched the Desalination Deal of the Year award for its Salalah independent water and power project (IWPP) in Oman. Hailing the deal as “the most significant step forward for the water industry in terms of financial innovation or in meeting the demands of challenging circumstances”, GWI highlighted that despite the deal coming at the tail end of the financial crisis, the project’s financial team nonetheless secured an extremely competitive level of pricing. The very complex funding package for the US$1 billion project also marked the first time that a Gulf IWPP took significant advantage of Chinese lending. In addition, the project team’s successful mobilisation of Omani lenders provided a valuable hedge against the impact of currency fluctuations on local costs.

Sembcorp is a recognised international player in the global water industry, and owns and operates facilities in 32 locations across five continents. Its range of total water solutions includes wastewater treatment for both industrial and municipal clients, water reuse, desalination and water supply. Sembcorp’s water business marked a landmark year in 2010, with the growth of its global water capacity by almost 50% to over 6 million cubic metres per day of water with the acquisition of Cascal. With the acquisition, Sembcorp strengthened its standing as a provider of complete water and wastewater treatment solutions to both industrial and municipal customers, directly serving the water needs of over five million people worldwide. Signifying the successful implementation of its high concentration industrial wastewater treatment model in China, Sembcorp also completed a 12,500 cubic meters per day high-concentration industrial wastewater treatment plant in Nanjing Chemical Industrial Park during the year. In the Middle East, Sembcorp commenced the construction of its Salalah combined power and desalination plant in Oman, set to produce 15 million imperial gallons (69,000 cubic metres) per day of water. The company also signed a memorandum of understanding to expand the desalination capacity of its Fujairah 1 combined power and desalination plant in the UAE, already the world’s largest operating hybrid desalination plant, by a further 30% from 100 million imperial gallons (455,000 cubic metres) per day to around 130 million imperial gallons (591,800 cubic metres) per day. In addition, Sembcorp opened the Sembcorp NEWater Plant in Singapore during the year. One of the largest water recycling plants in the world with a capacity of 50 million imperial gallons (228,000 cubic metres) of NEWater per day, the plant employs state-of-the-art technology to optimise energy use and minimise plant footprint.

Commenting on the wins, Tang Kin Fei, Group President & CEO of Sembcorp Industries, said, “We at Sembcorp are very pleased to receive these prestigious awards, which attest to our growing standing as a trusted global water services provider.

“2010 was a milestone year for our water business in terms of growth in our total capacity, expansion of our global presence and strengthening of our capabilities to serve both industrial and municipal customers. Sembcorp is also proud to be leading the way in financial innovation for new projects even amid challenging circumstances. These achievements have been possible only because of the tremendous team effort by our employees and the support of our customers and partners. I would like to thank them for their contribution to Sembcorp’s success in the global water industry, as well as at the Global Water Awards.”

Sembcorp is not new to the Global Water Awards. In 2010, the Sembcorp NEWater Plant was named the Water Reuse Project of the Year at the awards, recognising it as the water reuse project that represented the most significant achievement for the industry in 2009. Sembcorp’s municipal water business, formerly known as Cascal, also won a Distinction Award (runner-up award) for Water Company of the Year at the 2010 awards, while Sembcorp’s Fujairah 1 IWPP project won a Distinction Award for Desalination Deal of the year at the 2007 awards.

To read more about the Global Water Awards, please visit http://www.globalwaterawards.com/

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ABOUT SEMBCORP INDUSTRIES

Sembcorp Industries is a leading energy, water and marine group operating across six continents worldwide. With facilities with 5,600 megawatts of gross power capacity and over six million cubic metres of water per day in operation and under development, Sembcorp is a trusted provider of essential energy and water solutions to both industrial and municipal customers. It is also a world leader in marine and offshore engineering, as well as an established developer of integrated townships and industrial parks.

The Group has total assets of over S$10 billion and employs over 9,000 employees. Listed on the main board of the Singapore Exchange, it is a component stock of the Straits Times Index and several MSCI indices.

Note to Editors:
Following a company rebrand, please refer to the company as “Sembcorp” (with “S” in upper case and “c” in lower case), or “Sembcorp Industries” in full. Please also note that “Sembcorp” is not an abbreviation of “Sembawang Corporation” but a brand name in itself, and it is therefore incorrect to refer to our company as “Sembawang”, “Sembawang Corporation” or similar.