Mr Lee Yi Shyan at the Opening Ceremony of Det Norske Veritas’ Clean Technology Centre, 18 Mar 2010

Speech by Mr Lee Yi Shyan Minister of State for Trade & Industry and Manpower at the Opening Ceremony of Det Norske Veritas’ Clean Technology Centre on Thursday, 18 March 2010, at 5:15pm at the Shangri-La Hotel, Island Ballroom

Dr Henrik Madsen

CEO, Det Norske Veritas A/S

Mr BT Markussen

Managing Director of DNV Clean Technology Centre

Distinguished Guests

Ladies and Gentlemen

Good afternoon to all of you.I am pleased to be here at the opening of DNV’s new Clean Technology Centre.

Cleantech as a Key Growth Area for Singapore

In past decade or so, governments and corporations worldwide have had to grapple with critical issues such as climate change, energy security and urbanisation. Many are now focusing their attention on the issue of environmental sustainability.

For a resource-constrained city-state like Singapore, growing our economy in a sustainable manner has always been the guiding principle.Over time, we developed environmental and urban solutions that are unique to our needs.Increasingly too, our experience has become of interests to many Asian cities in the region.

Recently, the Singapore Government identified the Cleantech industry as an area that holds strategic economic growth opportunity.It is a sector that requires an integration of cross-disciplinary as well as vertical knowledge in electronics, chemicals and precision engineering.

By 2015, the Cleantech industry is expected to contribute $3.4 billion to Singapore’s GDP and employ about 18,000 people. Last month, we launched CleanTech Park, Singapore’s first business park, which will house a cluster of Cleantech activities. It will also serve as a large-scale integrated test-bed for Cleantech solutions.

Singapore as a Living Laboratory for Cleantech Solutions

In fact, we are now positioning the whole of Singapore as a “living laboratory” in which companies can come together to develop, test-bed and commercialise, future-oriented solutions. Some of the solutions can then be scaled up and deployed in other Asian cities.

DNV’s new Clean Technology Centre will play an important multiplier role in this process.It has started to work with partners such as the Maritime Port Authority (MPA), Nanyang Technological University (NTU), the National University of Singapore (NUS), and private sector companies on joint projects.These collaborations combine the resources of private and public sector to devise solutions for Singapore and for the region.

Manpower Development as Growth Driver

To ensure the continued and sustainable growth of the Cleantech industry, the government has set aside close to $700 million to develop R&D and manpower capabilities for this sector.The fund is set aside to target 5 focus areas – manpower development, R&D, enterprise development, international branding of the industry and nurturing a vibrant Cleantech ecosystem.

We have also developed and launched a number of new programmes to groom a green-collar workforce. For example, we aim to train at least 150 technology leaders over 5 years under the Cleantech post-graduate scholarships programme.

The Singapore Workforce Development Agency (WDA) is currently working with companies, polytechnics and research institutions to develop a variety of specialised training courses in areas such as photovoltaic (PV) manufacturing, system integration and sustainable manufacturing under the Workforce Skills Qualification (WSQ) framework. By the end of 2010, these courses will contribute about 600 trained professionals that will help meet the needs of the industry.

Conclusion

Moving forward, we believe the Cleantech industry will evolve to be a high key growth sector for Singapore’s economy. The opening of DNV’s Clean Technology Centre today marks a significant milestone in our efforts to further develop this promising industry.

Singapore is proud to work with DNV in this partnership. To conclude, I would like to extend my heartiest congratulations to the management and staff of DNV on the establishment of its R&D centre in Singapore. I wish you every success in your new venture.

Thank you.