Gov’t allocates $51m to fund request for proposal on coastal protection

New technologies include machine learning, radar satellite, and data collection.

Singapore’s national water agency, Public Utility Board (PUB), is seeking proposals on the use of new technologies that will support its creation of coastal protection measures, with $51m earmarked to fund the proposals.

It cited that emerging technologies include machine learning, radar satellite, and imagery, as well as crowdsourced data, for the collection and analysis of coastal and inland datasets.

The funding also comes from the allocation of the National Research Foundation to PUB in September 2021, under the Competitive Funding for Water Research programme, which is part of the Research Innovation and Enterprise 2025 Plan.

Since it assumed the role as the nation’s coastal protection agency in April 2020, PUB has been creating strategies to protect coastal areas versus rising sea levels and extreme rainfall brought about by the climate crisis.

The search for proposals is part of PUB’s research plans to study the effects of waves, currents and ship wakes, to strengthen the development of coastal protection solutions and ensure they are effective, multi-functional, adaptive, and sustainable.