Singapore's eco-city in China can expect keen contest

Apart from Tianjin, there are at least three major eco-city projects
Tracy Quek, Straits Times 27 Feb 08;

BEIJING - SINGAPORE'S ecological city in Tianjin will be closely scrutinised as comparisons are made with at least three other eco-developments in China, and more as Beijing turns increasingly to such projects to meet green goals.

There are four major foreign-invested eco-city projects in progress in China and the authorities are in talks with other developed nations concerning more such schemes, Vice-Minister of Construction Qiu Baoxing told The Straits Times, on the sidelines of a press conference yesterday.

Besides the Singapore-China eco-city in the northern port city of Tianjin, one of the other three projects in progress is being developed by British engineering firm Arup on Shanghai's Chongming island.

Of the other two projects, Mr Qiu said agreements have been signed. He declined to reveal the foreign partners involved, saying 'there are still some things to work out'.

The Singapore project is not 'the largest in terms of investment or scale'. But of the four approved developments, it is 'the one that is proceeding the most smoothly and the most quickly', Mr Qiu said.

'The project with Singapore has very high-level government attention on both sides,' he added.

This seems to be the first time the Construction Ministry, which oversees major building projects, has given an idea of how many major eco-cities are in the works.

With several springing up in the future, individual projects will not be able to escape comparison and will be under pressure to distinguish themselves from the rest in terms of technology as well as design and planning, said observers.

Eco-cities are envisioned as entire towns or cities where economic activity and growth will not exact the high toll that resource guzzling modern cities inflict on the environment.

This can be achieved by ensuring that urban design, buildings, road layouts, modes of transportation and clean technology meet strict green requirements.

China in recent years has promoted such projects as part of efforts to drastically reduce energy consumption and pollution emissions in the short term.

'The building of eco-cities is a new attempt...and is extremely beneficial in helping China solve the problems it faces in cutting energy use and pollution,' said Mr Qiu.

Experts say there are now dozens of small and medium-scale experiments in China to build eco-cities or to transform current cities or towns into more environmentally friendly areas.

The Singapore project and Arup's development, however, are particularly visible as they involve building from scratch on substantial plots of unused land, billions of yuan in investment and have strong government backing.

Chinese media have reported that the Singapore venture, spread over 30 sq km in Tianjin's Binhai new district, will cost at least 30 billion yuan (about S$6 billion).

Officials involved in the project previously said it will eventually house some 300,000 people. But yesterday, Xinhua news agency reported that the project hopes to attract some 1.5 million people.

Xinhua added that construction has started on a service centre as part of preliminary work for the official launch of the Tianjin eco-city.

The 46,000 sq m building will house the project's administrative committee and joint venture investment company comprising a Singapore consortium led by Keppel Corporation and a Chinese group.

The building is expected to be up in mid-June and operational in July, when a ground-breaking ceremony is planned.