Singapore opened its first seawater purifying plant yesterday in another major step towards reducing dependence on imported water from Malaysia.

The S$200 million (US$119.76 million) facility in the suburb of Tuas just across a narrow strait from Malaysia's southern Johor state will produce 30 million gallons (114 million litres) of potable water a day, or 10 percent of the city-state's current daily consumption.

The desalination plant was built by a wholly-owned subsidiary of Singapore water treatment specialist Hyflux.

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, who formally opened the project, described the facility as the largest of its kind in the world to use "reverse osmosis" technology to rid seawater of salt and other impurities.

"For Singapore, an island in the sea, desalination is a natural solution. Desalination provides a steady source of water, unaffected by variations in rainfall," Lee said.

He added that for Singapore, water "will always be a strategic resource, and not just an economic commodity".

Under pressure

The government will invest another S$1.5 billion in water-related projects over the next two years after spending S$4.5 billion in the last four years, he said.

Singapore's daily water consumption of around 1.14 billion litres is expected to grow by a third in 10 years.

The country is under pressure to increase self-sufficiency as one water supply agreement with Malaysia will expire in 2011 and another in 2061.

Singapore has drawn up a plan to source supplies from four "national taps," namely imports, reservoirs, recycling waste water flushed from toilets and sinks, and desalination to meet its long-term water needs.

The wealthy island-nation's continued reliance on piped raw water from Malaysia since it was evicted from the Malayan Federation in 1965 is seen as a key vulnerability.