KMEDP began commercial operations in June 2020 and is Singapore’s fourth desalination plant. It is also the republic’s first and only large-scale, dual-mode desalination plant, which can treat both seawater and freshwater. The plant has the ability to produce 137,000 cubic metres of fresh drinking water per day. Keppel was awarded a contract by PUB to design, build, own and operate the plant from 2020 to 2045.
The trustee-manager of Keppel Infrastructure Trust (SGX:A7RU
) (KIT) has proposed to acquire 50% of Marina East Water (MEW) from Keppel in an interested person transaction (IPT). The acquisition will see Keppel and KIT holding a 50% joint-controlling stake in MEW, which owns the Keppel Marina East Desalination Plant (KMEDP). MEW is the wholly-owned subsidiary of Keppel Infrastructure Holdings.
The parties entered into a conditional share purchase and subscription agreement (SPSA) on Nov 15, and have already received in-principal approval from PUB. Under the agreement, KIT will receive 100% of the economic benefits from the desalination plant which has an enterprise value of $323 million. At the same time, the plant’s operations and maintenance will continue to be performed by Keppel’s infrastructure division until the end of the plant’s concession period in 2045.
