SINGAPORE is building up its expertise in nuclear safety, science and engineering, with a $63 million, five-year research and education programme.

The move, say experts, will help the nation keep on top of developments in the field, and what to do if a disaster should strike.

The new effort, announced yesterday by the National Research Foundation (NRF), comprises a Singapore Nuclear Research and Safety Initiative led by National University of Singapore physicistLim Hock, and a Nuclear Education and Training Fund.
The fund will train undergraduates and graduate students, and support overseas attachments.

There are few nuclear experts here, and the fund aims to train about 10 people a year, and about 100 in all over the next decade.

… Mr Kwa Chong Guan, a senior fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies at Nanyang Technological University, said: “Singapore, if it is to participate in any regional discussion on nuclear energy, needs to build up its expertise on nuclear energy… The establishment of a Nuclear Safety Research and Education Programme is a step towards this end.”