Eco-city competition hotting up in China

Tianjin province will have Italian-built eco-city as well as one built by S'pore group
Lynette Khoo Business Times 28 Feb 11;

(SINGAPORE) Competition is right at the doorstep of the Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-city as another iconic eco-city takes shape within the same province.

Led by an Italian consortium, the project's design draws inspiration from Leonardo da Vinci's urban studies for Milan in the late 15th century and the urban structure of the Forbidden City in Beijing.

It sits on a 13 square kilometre site in Tianjin and is expected to have residential buildings for 75,000 people, commercial buildings, schools, entertainment facilities, medical amenities and a science park.

This is but one of hundreds of eco-cities that have sprung up in China as local officials chase the trend, tying up with private-sector partners in most cases.

In Tianjin, the contract to build this Italian eco-city, Eco Nanhe Town - Nanhe Jingwu, was apparently awarded by the Nanhe municipal government just months after the joint- venture agreement was inked between the Singapore consortium led by Keppel Corp and the Chinese consortium for the bilateral project.

But the Singapore crew is undaunted. 'Competition is good as it keeps us on our toes,' said Ho Tong Yen, chief executive of SSTEC, the master developer of the Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-city.

'In China, competition for investments is a reality that any city has to face,' he added. He deemed it unsurprising that more eco-cities would spring up given growing awareness of the importance of sustainable development.

Tianjin was chosen for the bilateral project out of four sites, including Tangshan. Though Tangshan wasn't the chosen site, that didn't stop the local officials from pursuing their own 'green' ambitions.

They are now working on the Tangshan Nanhu Eco-City, where Singapore-listed developers Yanlord and Ho Bee Group are building high-end residential properties that meet international standards for energy conservation.

IE Singapore assistant chief executive Yew Sung Pei noted that there is always competition for attention, be it from other eco-cities or development zones. But the various eco-city projects that have emerged in response to varied needs in different parts of China may focus on different things.

'Companies' interest in participating would also depend on their own needs and expansion strategies, the market potential and value to be captured at each location,' Mr Yew said.

Apart from the competition, concerns have also been flagged concerning the land condition for the Sino-Singapore project, though it was intentional to choose land that is non-arable with limited water supply in order to demonstrate how eco-solutions can be adopted and applied elsewhere.

But treating the salt-alkaline land is proving to be rather challenging, sources close to the project told BT. In response to BT queries, a spokesman from Singapore's Ministry of National Development (MND) conceded that there are challenges, but 'these challenges are not insurmountable'.

The 'environment rehabilitation' of the eco-city is progressing on schedule, he added. Various studies are underway to understand how best to tackle the environmental challenges facing the project.

According to him, some other parts of China, including in the Tianjin Binhai New Area, are similarly located on salt-alkaline land and their experiences will offer useful pointers on the treatment of the land.

While the trend of building eco-cities in China is expected to continue, MND pointed out that the Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-city stands out in some ways.

Like the preceding bilateral project Suzhou Industrial Park, the Tianjin project - as a G2G undertaking - has the support of both governments at the highest level. It enjoys various preferential policies and financial support, including a recently launched programme by IE Singapore to encourage Singapore companies to set up operations and participate in projects in the eco-city.

While some 'eco-city' projects in China have no real measures on their green initiatives, Singapore's Tianjin project needs to fulfil a set of qualitative and quantitative key performance indicators.

Its significant scale - occupying a land area of 30 sq km with a projected population of 350,000 when fully developed - will provide the critical mass for investors and businesses to set up operations there, the MND spokesman said.

While many highly publicised eco-city projects in China have either remained on the drawing board or collapsed from shoddy implementation, the Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-city means business.

Total investments drawn to date have hit 55 billion yuan (S$10.6 billion), SSTEC said. MND also noted that around 300 enterprises are registered with the eco-city and some will commence operations soon. Various residential projects, including Keppel Land's eco-homes, have been launched and met with feverish demand.

The 4 sq km start-up area is already starting to take shape. Construction has begun on the 130-hectare Eco-Industrial Park (EIP), touted to be the first of its kind in China to be built completely in compliance with green building evaluation standards.

'The Tianjin Eco-city has made significant progress since the groundbreaking ceremony in September 2008,' the MND spokesman said. 'Overall, we are on track to complete the start-up area by 2013, and the entire Eco-city by around 2020.'