Singapore’s government will issue up to S$19 billion ($14.36bn) worth of green bonds to fund public infrastructure projects.
The Tuas Nexus project will be financed with green bonds, according to Singapore’s finance minister Heng Swee Keat. The project is Singapore’s first integrated waste and water treatment facility and is expected to be completed in stages from 2025.
The project includes a water recycling plant and an integrated waste management complex, which will be managed respectively by Singapore’s national water agency PUB and the national environment agency.
It is reported that having both facilities on one site will save 2.6 hectares of land, compared to building two separate plants.
The bond issue will serve as a reference for the Singapore dollar corporate green bond market with criteria, framework applied, and the earnings rate included.
Nicholas Hanna of Pinsent Masons MPillay, the Singapore joint law venture between MPillay and Pinsent Masons, the law firm behind Out-Law, said: “As Singapore attempts to be a market leader for the region, the new green bond initiative is cementing its commitment to be a sustainable financial hub for south east Asia. DBS bank is leading the charge in the green bond space to assist Singapore’s focus on the ‘Smart City Smart Nation’ policy.”
“With ESG and large businesses and investors seeing how they can potentially reduce the carbon footprint on new projects, this green finance will no doubt attract new issuers and analysts covering this space. Infrastructure and building construction in the commercial sector will be boosted as a result of the added commitment to cleantech and green finance, which is good for Singapore's future,” he said.
Singapore’s government will commit to more goals under the GreenGov.Sg initiative for the public sector as part of the Green Plan, according to Heng.
Singapore launched its Green Plan 2030 in February and sets out Singapore’s green targets for the next 10 years.
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