Building the Keppel Seghers Tuas WTE plant to support sustainable waste management

Publication Type

Case

Publication Date

12-2022

Abstract

Shantanu Bhattacharya, Professor of Operations Management at Singapore Management University (SMU), observed how waste in Singapore was incinerated before it was poured into the country’s only landfill. The government wanted to maximise the country’s limited land resources by using waste-to-energy (WTE) plants that would decrease the volume of waste that was deposited in landfills.

Additionally, the heat generated could be used to generate electricity. In 2005, Keppel Seghers was awarded a public-private partnership (PPP) contract to develop the country’s fifth WTE plant. This would be the first incineration plant in Singapore to employ technology from a local company. The PPP structure would allow the government to save on the capital outlay and capitalise on private sector expertise. Keppel Seghers would have to ensure that it would be able to provide sufficient incineration capacity. Bhattacharya supported the waste management strategy but knew the landfill had a limited lifespan. He hoped to study more innovative waste management solutions in the future.

This case can be used for undergraduate classes. By analysing the case, students should be able to understand how large infrastructure projects can be undertaken using a PPP structure, appreciate the different forms of PPP structure and how risks are shared among the parties involved and understand the need for more sustainable energy infrastructure.

Keyword(s)

Infrastructure and urban development, Public-private partnerships, Risk management, Stakeholder relations

Discipline

Asian Studies | Operations and Supply Chain Management | Transportation | Urban Studies

Research Areas

Operations Management

Data Source

Field Research

Industry

Construction and engineering

Geographic Coverage

Singapore

Temporal Coverage

2019

Education Level

Undergraduate

Publisher

Singapore Management University

Case ID

SMU-22-0028

Comments

SMU Faculty/Staff can download the case and teaching note with your SMU login ID and Password via the following links:

For purchase of the case and supplementary materials via The CMP Shop, please access the following link:

For purchase of the case and supplementary materials via The Case Centre, please access the following links:

For purchase of the case and supplementary materials via Harvard Business Publishing, please access the following links:

Additional URL

https://cmp.smu.edu.sg/case/5586

Share

COinS