Excellencies, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, good morning. I am happy to be here this morning at this Joint Opening Ceremony of PSA 2002 and HVAC ASIA 2002.

I am told that PSA is into its 6^th staging this year. It is now Asia’s largest international exhibition that feature a good mix of modern technologies relating to air & gas handling systems; chemical processing; control & instrumentation; fluid power, power transmission and also environmental management processes.

Staging concurrently with PSA is the HVAC ASIA, which will also feature an impressive range of technologies relating to heating, ventilation, air-conditioning, air filtration & purification, refrigeration and building automation control. I am told that this is the 4^th successful presentation of PSA cum HVAC Asia show series in Singapore.

Indeed, what we are witnessing today is a far cry from the humble beginnings of the PSA show series in 1992 with a show area of only 6,000 square metres; and the inaugural HVAC Asia in 1996 which featured 5,400 square metres of exhibits. What is most heartening is that both these successful shows have been fully conceived and nurtured by HQ Link, a truly home-grown show organiser. Through sheer determination, the two shows have arrived at their mega status today, commanding a total exhibition area of 25,000 square metres, which is four times the exhibition space in 1992.

I am also encouraged to learn that despite the challenging business landscape of today, both PSA 2002 and HVAC ASIA 2002 have managed to attract more number of exhibitors. Some 1,200 exhibitors from 70 countries are participating in these shows. The organisers expect some 15,000 trade visitors to turn up in four days, and among them 40% would likely be foreign visitors.

I am also told that apart from presenting a diverse range of the latest technology available in the global marketplace, certain technologies relating to environmental management have also been added as new features at these shows. This, according to the organisers, is in keeping with the growing global concern over the state of our living environment.

In Asia, high population growth, urbanisation and rapid industrialisation have posed an ever-increasing burden on both our environment and natural resources. In fact, the Asian Development Bank, in its Asian Environment Outlook (AEO) 2001 Report, pointed out that studies have estimated that the economic costs of environmental degradation in Asia, vary from country to country, could range from 1% to 9% of national GNPs.

The same Report projected that:

• By 2020, over half of Asia's population is likely to live in cities, with the urban population tripling to over a billion in 2020 (from 360 million in 1990), further straining an already inadequate infrastructure for water supply, housing, and sanitation.
• One in three Asians lacks access to safe drinking water within 200 meters from home, with South and Southeast Asia suffering the most.
• The region is expected to replace the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries as the world's largest source of greenhouse gas emissions by 2015.
• Air pollution is a major cause of respiratory ailments and premature death in several Asian cities.

There is clearly a need for the region to work together more collectively to ensure that economic productivity and environmental improvements are not mutually exclusive, but can go hand-in-hand.

At the global level, many of today’s environmental problems are transboundary in nature. International co-operation is crucial. To this end, besides domestic measures to protect the local environment, Singapore has adopted a proactive stance by participating in regional and international forums, acceding to various international conventions and seeking co-operation with others in areas of environmental technology transfers. We will continue to work closely with others to initiate capacity building projects that focus on human resource development.

On 1 Jul 2002, my Ministry formed a statutory body known as the National Environment Agency or NEA, in short. Focusing more on operations, NEA’s mission is to ensure a sustainable quality environment in Singapore.

One of the key challenges of the NEA is to work towards even better ambient air quality in Singapore. To this end, one key thrust of the NEA is to aggressively promote energy efficiency. To the industries, many companies have come to believe that it makes good business sense to improve the energy efficiency of their operations. This helps them reduce operating costs and make them more competitive. At the national level, energy efficient industries will not only strengthen our national competitiveness, but also allow energy use to expand in an environmentally sustainable way as our economy continues to grow.

In this connection, I would like to take this opportunity to announce an Energy Audit Scheme for industries. The objective of this scheme is to encourage industries to put in place a formal system for the management of energy use, as a first step towards improving their energy efficiency. This scheme was an initiative of the National Energy Efficiency Committee or the NEEC, which is a public sector-private sector-people sector committee. The scheme was developed in consultation with the major industrial consumers of energy. It is a voluntary scheme designed to provide an impetus for industries to improve the energy efficiency of their operations. With this scheme, we hope that companies would be encouraged to systematically identify opportunities for energy efficiency improvements on a regular basis, thus achieve continual improvement in energy efficiency.

I am told that three of our major and important industries have already agreed to join the scheme. A few more have indicated interest in the scheme. The NEA and the NEEC would be arranging for briefing sessions on the scheme for industries. I would like to urge more of our companies to join the scheme, especially those whose operations are highly energy-intensive. You will find this worth your while. Collectively, the efforts of our industries will undoubtedly make a significant impact in improved energy use and reduced emissions of air pollutants and carbon dioxide.

Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,

The PSA and HVAC ASIA are accredited as Approved International Fairs, or AIF in short, under the International Exhibition City Programme administered by International Enterprise Singapore. An AIF event is recognised for its high international standing and quality. The AIF status serves both as an official endorsement of the quality of a trade fair, and as a benchmark to assist foreign participants in choosing the most representative events in the region. These two shows are therefore excellent platforms for both Singapore and foreign companies to interact and foster ties to create win-win values for their stakeholders in a growing world market.

The Singapore Government will continue to support trade exhibitions that encourage the growth of industries that contribute positively to economy. As the lead agency for the Exhibitions sector, IE Singapore will continue to spearhead and market Singapore as a hub for exhibitions of international reputation and support the growth of Singapore-based exhibitions.

On this note, it is my pleasure to declare PSA 2002 and HVAC ASIA 2002 open. I wish all of you a fruitful and rewarding time.