Ramping up to help improve climate resiliency and implement advanced water technologies in Singapore and Southeast Asia

As a low-lying island city state, Singapore is particularly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change such as rising sea levels and flooding caused by heavy rainfalls. Also, Singapore uses the ‘four national taps’ to produce high-quality drinking water through advanced processes and applies a circular and innovative approach to the management of ‘new’ water.

To help public authorities, such as the national water agency PUB, and private developers in Singapore and Southeast Asia address these challenges and utilize the opportunities Ramboll is now strengthening its group of water treatment and climate adaptation consultants based in Singapore. Hence, a strong and highly experienced leadership team is now in place, ready for any challenge:

• Pritha Hariram is the Head of the Water Infrastructure and Climate Adaptation department at Ramboll Singapore. She is an experienced environmental engineer with over 20 years of experience in the management of drinking water and wastewater systems to safeguard public health and build resilience to climate change. Prior to joining Ramboll, Pritha led the development and financing of bankable water projects for the Dutch Development Financial Institution, FMO across Asia, Africa and Latin America. 
  
  
• Jonathan Clement is the Chief Technology Officer of Advanced Water Treatment. Since 1997 he has focused on advanced water treatment technologies including ceramic membranes advanced oxidation, and ion exchange. Previously, Jonathan Clement was Chief Executive Officer of PWN Technologies a subsidiary of PWN, the innovative water supply company of North Holland. He has been an International Water Association (IWA) fellow since 2012, and for 10 years he was the chair of the water treatment program of the Singapore Water International Water Work (SIWW). In 2019 Jonathan was listed as one of the top 25 global water leaders in the world.  
  
  
• Johann van Aartsen is a chemical engineer with more than 25 years of experience in design management of large complex water treatment and re-use projects for industrial and municipal clients. He has led design teams across the globe and brings experience in all project phases.

Local insight, global knowledge

By this ramp-up Ramboll strengthens its total representation in Singapore which also includes a sizeable group of landscape architects from Ramboll Studio Dreiseitl and a world-class team of smart mobility experts from Ramboll Vertix.

“Strengthening and growing the water team aligns well with our overall strategy of developing Ramboll in Singapore into a hub for our activities in the entire Southeast Asian region. This enables us to provide world-class expertise as well as integrated and interdisciplinary solutions to clients in both Singapore and the rest of the region,” says Nick Fellows, Country Director of Ramboll in Singapore. 

As part of a global water team in Ramboll the local team in Singapore can provide a unique combination of local insight and global knowledge:

“As an example, clients in Southeast Asia can benefit from project experience from other parts of the world as for instance Tampa, Florida, where Ramboll is currently piloting the Suspended Ion Exchange advanced water treatment technology” says René Hoeijmakers, Executive Director of Ramboll Water.

Circular solutions

Furthermore, the close ties to Ramboll’s energy team, which includes some of the world’s most experienced waste-to-energy experts, enables the group in Singapore to develop advanced and circular water/wastewater/energy solutions. For instance, Ramboll is playing a key role in designing and developing Singapore’s new Integrated Waste Management Facility (IWMF) which will be the world’s largest resource recovery facility and combine waste and used water.

Meet Ramboll at Singapore International Water Week and learn much more about our visions, ambitions and project experience.