P&G bases global disaster relief hub here

Good location, logistics capabilities led to set-up of water purifier plant here

By Feng Zengkun, The Straits Times, 30 Nov 2012

SINGAPORE has notched up another accolade, with US consumer goods giant Procter & Gamble's (P&G) decision to base its global hub for disaster relief here.

This comes about after it officially opened a factory in Tuas yesterday which will produce sachets containing ingredients that can convert 10 litres of dirty water into drinkable water in about 30 minutes, enough for five people a day. This could mean the difference between life and death for people caught in natural disasters.

The factory will produce 100 million sachets a year for now and at least double its output by 2020.

This is the equivalent of producing at least two billion litres of clean water a year by 2020.

The sachets will be given free to countries during natural disasters and sold to governments and organisations at 3.5 US cents (4.3 Singapore cents) at other times.

The purifier is not new - since 2004, P&G has supplied about five billion litres of clean water to countries using the sachet under its global Children's Safe Drinking Water programme.

An older factory in Pakistan will continue to produce about 40 million sachets a year.

Mr Hatsunori Kiriyama, P&G Asia's president, said the company decided to build its new factory in Singapore because of the country's easy access to the rest of the region. "Singapore's strategic location and strong logistics capabilities will allow us to react quickly to disaster-prone neighbouring countries," he said.

Minister in the Prime Minister's Office and Second Minister for Trade and Industry S. Iswaran, the guest of honour yesterday, said P&G could work with more than 130 international non-profit organisations based here. "This would help P&G to better understand and reach out to regions that need clean drinking water," he added.

One country that has benefited from the sachet is Myanmar. In 2008, when it was hit by Cyclone Nargis, relief organisation World Vision Singapore and P&G distributed more than 25 million litres of clean water to victims.

World Vision Singapore executive director James Quek said: "The sachets are a life-saver because they are small, portable and simple to administer through our field staff."