Eco-city 'can be urban renewal model'

Lessons from Tianjin project can be applied to old cities across China, says SM Goh
Grace Ng, Straits Times 13 Sep 09;

In Dalian: Replicating lessons learnt from the Tianjin Eco-city in the renewal of old cities across China will be the goal of the joint project between Singapore and China, Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong said.

'The whole idea is it will be replicable...the model there can be used as a solution to China's urbanisation of other cities,' he said in an interview with Chinese state news agency Xinhua in the north-eastern city of Dalian last Thursday.

Launched two years ago, the eco-city project aims to transform a 30 sq km barren plot of land in the northern port city of Tianjin into an environmentally friendly community of 350,000 residents, and create up to 60,000 jobs over the next decade.

During his meeting with Mr Goh just before the interview, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said the project must succeed.

Mr Goh highlighted waste water management as an example of a lesson in the development of the eco-city and other Chinese cities, citing Singapore's experience in which 'every drop of water is collected, treated and recycled'.

'China will face a shortage of water. It can go into waste water management and then we can see how water can be managed and recycled for use in industries, and even human consumption,' he told Xinhua.

Mr Goh was in Dalian to attend a summit of international economic and political leaders organised by the World Economic Forum (WEF).

During the interview with Xinhua, held on the sidelines of the conference, he also spoke about the global economic recovery and China's role in it.

The world's governments, he said, face two potential problems as they struggle out of the crisis: inflation and the question of how to exit their massive stimulus packages without disrupting the recovery.

'If the stimulus package for each country is ended too early, then there is a real danger of the economy reverting back to what it was some months ago,' said Mr Goh, who also heads the Monetary Authority of Singapore.

However, 'if you do not exit from the stimulus package, the likely consequence would be inflation'.

For now, the world's leaders have agreed to continue with the stimulus and a policy of loose money, or much money available for loan at low interest rates, to encourage growth, amid some concerns that the global financial system has not yet digested all its banking and bad credit woes.

Even China, which enjoyed relatively fast growth of 7.1 per cent in the first half of the year, has been cautious about proclaiming a certain recovery, with Premier Wen pledging at the WEF summit to press on with Beijing's 4 trillion yuan (S$836 billion) stimulus.

But Mr Goh said China 'can do much more'. It can stimulate domestic demand to support its own growth, such as in the leisure sector and financial services.

Beijing's efforts in health-care reform, education and economic restructuring were a step in the right direction, he added.

During his three-day trip in Dalian that ended yesterday, Mr Goh also met the city's Communist Party secretary Xia Deren, during which they reaffirmed the 'two-way learning relationship' between China and Singapore.

Dalian, which has already sent about 1,000 officials to Singapore for training since 2007, plans to send another 1,000 officials, said Mr Xia.

graceng@sph.com.sg

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