First public housing devt in Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-city reaches milestone

Hetty Musfirah Abdul Khamid, Channel NewsAsia 14 Oct 09;

SINGAPORE: The first public housing development in the Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-city has reached a significant milestone.

A groundbreaking ceremony was held on Wednesday. Singapore's Senior Minister of State for National Development Grace Fu officiated at the event.

The Eco-city is designed to promote social harmony, create economic vibrancy and environmental sustainability.

One of its key performance indicators is to have at least 20 per cent of its housing units in the form of public housing.

The first phase of the public housing development is located in the four-square-kilometre start-up area (SUA) of the Eco-city. It will have 569 units spread out in seven blocks.

The project is expected to be completed by mid-2011. In all, some 3,000 public housing units will be build in the start-up area.

- CNA/ir

Eco friendly homes for Tianjin
China will use some of Singapore's experience to build low-cost flats
Grace Ng, Straits Times 15 Oct 09;

TIANJIN: Officials from China and Singapore yesterday broke ground for a new town of environmentally friendly homes for low-income Chinese.

The first public housing project in the Tianjin Eco-City will showcase some 570 units, each 55 sq m large and sporting features such as solar panels and clean drinking water straight from the tap.

China will draw on some of Singapore's experience in building, maintaining and upgrading HDB flats in the joint venture, said Ms Grace Fu, the Senior Minister of State for National Development and Education.

'The emphasis is not just on the economic and commercial development,' she told Singapore reporters yesterday. 'It will be a place where economic activities and the community...are in a harmonious relationship.'

Ms Fu - who visited the Eco-City in June - was back here in the coastal city for two days, to lend a hand in the ground-breaking festivities and to 'understand the progress of the project'.

The project was designed by Surbana International Consultants and developed by the Tianjin Eco-City Administrative Committee.

Singapore hopes to contribute its strengths to bring out the best in a project that may serve as a model for others in future, said Ms Fu. During her Tianjin trip, which ends today, she will visit a secondary school, university, hospital, childcare centre and library to 'see how we can incorporate such facilities into the Eco-City', she said.

While there are dozens of green cities across China, the Eco-City is daring to be different by emphasising public housing innovations that promote social harmony. It aims to offer at least one-fifth of its units in the form of public housing partially subsidised by the Chinese government.

Over time, 3,000 naturally lit units - with solar panels that will reap energy savings of 70 per cent and heat 60 per cent of the units' water -�will be built in the 4 sq km start-up area of the project.

Sales will likely start next year but the pricing and eligibility criteria of low-income buyers are still being evaluated.

The ultimate aim is to transform a 30 sq km barren plot of land here in this northern port city into an environmentally friendly community of 350,000 residents, and create up to 60,000 jobs over the next decade.

The Eco-City also looks to deepen collaboration between Singapore and Tianjin in areas such as education.

An exhibition centre featuring technology related to energy, water and waste collection used in the Eco-City has been proposed.

There are also plans for collaboration between Nanyang Technological University and the National University of Singapore with Tianjin institutions on research and development.

The Eco-City is also seeking special incentives and grants from the Chinese government that would attract more green companies to set up shop and to offset the higher costs related to activities such as waste management, said Ms Fu.

She met Vice-Minister Qiu Baoxing of the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development in Beijing on Tuesday.

'We understand from our Chinese counterpart that progress is being made on incentives and grant and policy support for Tianjin Eco-City,' she said.

Ms Fu expressed hopes of some progress on the matter by April or May next year, when Premier Wen Jiabao and Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong are expected to visit the Eco-City together.

Both leaders had repeatedly emphasised 'the importance and significance of this project' when they met in Dalian during the World Economic Forum last month, Ms Fu noted during her meeting with Tianjin deputy party secretary He Lifeng yesterday.

Ms Fu leaves for Beijing tonight and returns to Singapore tomorrow.