Mr Tan Gee Paw was appointed Chairman of the PUB, Singapore’s national water agency on 1 April 2001. He is the Chairman of Jurong International Holdings Pte Ltd. He is a Director of the Singapore Millennium Foundation, and Ascendas Pte Ltd. Mr Tan is also a member of a number of government committees. He is the Chairman of International Advisory Panel, Institute of Water Policy, Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore. He is also Chairman of Nominating Committee, Lee Kuan Yew Water Prize, Singapore International Water Week. He is the Adjunct Professor, Dean’s Office, Faculty of Engineering, National University of Singapore. Previous appointments held by Mr Tan were Chairman of OpenNet Pte Ltd, Principal of Ngee Ann Polytechnic, and Permanent Secretary of the then Ministry of the Environment.
Mr Tan graduated with First Class Honours in Bachelor of Engineering (Civil) from the University of Malaya in 1967, and a Master of Science in Systems Engineering from the University of Singapore in 1971. He was conferred an Honorary Degree of Doctor of Science from the University of Westminster, UK in 1993; and an Honorary Doctorate in Engineering from Sheffield University, UK in 1995. In 2013, he was conferred an Honorary Degree of Doctor of Engineering by the Nanyang Technological University.
Mr Tan received the Public Administration Medal (Silver) in 1978 and a Special Award (Gold Medal) for Clean River Commemoration in 1987. He also received the Medal of Commendation at the NTUC May Day Award in 2005 and the President’s Award for the Environment in 2007. Mr Tan was conferred the Meritorious Service Medal in 2001 for his work as Permanent Secretary of the then Ministry of the Environment and the Distinguished Service Order in 2010 for his work as Chairman of PUB, the National Water Agency. In 2011, Mr Tan was conferred the Distinguished Engineering Alumni Award by the National University of Singapore, and elected an Honorary Fellow of the Institution of Engineers, Singapore. Mr Tan was also elected a Fellow of the Academy of Engineering, Singapore in 2012.
Presentation Title
From Little Red Dot to Little Blue Dot
Abstract
In a span of 50 years, Singapore has transformed from a country with limited natural water resources to one with a robust, diversified and sustainable water supply. This has been achieved through integrated water resource management based on a systems approach and effective use of technologies. Through systems engineering and research and development, Singapore introduced NEWater and desalination to augment Singapore’s water supplies from local catchment and imported waters to create the Four National Taps and will continue to optimise our water system and ensure an efficient, adequate and sustainable supply of water for the future.