Wind-powered water week in Singapore

I was in Singapore for Water Week last week. The event is in its third year, and is still growing. The organisers announced record overall attendance of more than 14,000 people, with the total value of deals announced at the show rising from US$1.6 billion in 2009 to US$2.0 billion this year.

The secret of this success has been to tie in all the engineers and major equipment suppliers who have done well out of Singapore’s water investment boom. SIWW is one of the few international trade shows where the American engineering firms will take exhibition space, and these, together with the presence of the regional engineers, ensures a quorum of potential customers for the equipment suppliers who exhibit. Add to that the water convention organised by the International Water Association and the Water Leaders Summit, and you have the critical mass of people you need for a successful international water week.

My job at the event was to chair a session on water finance during the Water Leaders Summit. It was interesting to see how the SIWW crowd differs from what you get at Stockholm Water Week or the World Water Forum. I asked the audience how many of those present felt that the private sector had no place in water provision: not a single hand went up. I asked how many objected to profit in the water sector. Again not a single objection. It exposes the vast gulf between those involved in delivering water services (the Singapore Water Week crowd) and those involved on the NGO side (who typically go to Stockholm or the World Water Forum).

The truth is that both sides of the argument are in favour of the same thing: safe drinking water and improved sanitation for all. The difficulty for me (and I think many others on the Singapore side of the debate) is finding a way to articulate our concern for making water work for the poor as well as the rich without losing sight of the fact that without a workable business model, nobody gets water at all.

I am told by my colleagues in the audience that I came across as someone who is “anti-poor and extreme pro-private organisations”. This is not something I wanted, but I guess that once you start talking about the nitty-gritty of water finance, it is difficult not to sound heartless.

I see some parallels with the argument over wind power. It is difficult to be against it in principle, but the reality is that you could cover the entire British Isles with wind turbines and still not produce enough electricity to meet UK demand. If you stand up and say this, it seems like you don’t care about global warming and have a hidden agenda to support nuclear power.

The NGO industry has some interesting things to say about water, but the solution to the world’s water problems requires finance of a different order of magnitude. Aid, government subsidies and wind power are not going to be enough, but if you say as much, you are no longer seen to be on the side of the angels.

The reality is that if you want the water business to work better, actions speak louder than words. The 14,000 people who attended the trade show at Singapore Water Week will have done more to address the water infrastructure gap through the US$2 billion of deals that they announced, than the 370 people who attended the Water Leaders Summit. I hope the event builds to greater strength next year, but Singapore seems intent on pushing its luck. The event kicks off on the Fourth of July 2011. Perfect for all those American engineers.