Singapore desalination plant benefits from high-security road blockers

Four Viper high-security road blockers have been installed at the Keppel Marina East Desalination Plant in Singapore to protect against hostile vehicle attacks. The new plant, which opened in June 2020, produces around 30 million gallons of fresh drinking water a day, enough to meet the demands of 200,000 households. 

It features a large underground treatment facility and a 20,000 sq.m roof garden, which is open to the public for community and recreational activities. The installation was carried out in partnership with one of Heald’s approved distributors in Singapore, ESCO Pte. Ltd.

Challenges

Keppel Marina East Desalination Plant was looking to install security products on its bridge to protect its visitors and plant workers from any potential hostile vehicle attacks. Bridges are notoriously difficult to protect as many do not allow deep mount exaction, which traditional perimeter security products typically require. However, unlike many bridges, this particular bridge allowed for good excavation and as a result, Heald’s Viper was selected. 

The result

The Viper is an intelligent, shallow-mount solution that is cost-effective and provides excellent value for money. The Viper only requires an excavation depth of 400 mm thanks to its innovative folding design. This means that the installation is as simple as possible, and no reinforcement of concrete is required. The shallow mount road blocker has been tested to both PAS 68 and ASTM standards to give you the ultimate perimeter protection. It can halt a 7.5-tonne truck travelling at a speed of 80 kph (50 mph). The Product operation was customised to the client’s Sally Port Requirements. For convenience, it also features a protective skirt that reduces debris collection and ensures that there is easy access for maintenance.  

After being manufactured at Heald’s factory in East Yorkshire, the road blockers were exported to Singapore where expert ESCO PTE LTD Partner fitted them to the highest standard. Following on from the great success of the installation, the plant’s team have asked Heald to provide security systems for the Jurong Island Desalination Plant. 

Working in Partnership

Commenting on the installation, Debbie Heald MBE, Managing Director of Heald added: “We are delighted to have worked on yet another fantastic project with ESCO PTE LTD. We are glad we could provide a product which met their client’s requirements and we will look forward to securing more high-profile areas in Singapore.”

Sanjeev Bhat of ESCO Pte Ltd. said “In my 16 years in the hostile vehicle mitigation industry, I am yet to see a blocker as good as the Heald Viper. It offers a simple one pour installation, without rebar cages, a shallow foundation, smooth operation and is tested to both ASTM & PAS68. It is an extremely reliable system which can do 200,000 cycles without failure, for me it doesn’t get any better than this. Once again, I am extremely delighted to have worked with Heald and delivered yet another viper kit tailor-made to the client’s operational requirements”.