New Collaborative Projects to Broaden and Deepen Partnership in the Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-city
The shift from basic infrastructure towards services, sustainability and community amenities could improve Eco-City liveability and potentially strengthen demand for its residential and commercial spaces.
Singapore and China established a Three-Year Work Plan containing projects for water management, Smart City development, green buildings, a garden and Tianjin Eco-City’s main library.
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Singapore and Chinese officials are working closely together on a Three-Year Work Plan in preparation for the Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-city’s 10th anniversary in 2018. The Work Plan consists of collaborative projects to broaden and deepen bilateral partnership. Some of these projects include building a new garden and a new main library in the Eco-city, and developing the Eco-city as a demonstration city for water resources management, a vibrant and Smart City, and a green building demonstration base.
Minister for National Development Lawrence Wong said, “We have made good progress in the development of the Eco-city. In the early days of the Eco-city, our focus was on rehabilitating the land and developing the basic infrastructure, in other words, on the hardware development of the Eco-city. As the Eco-city develops, our focus is shifting to the software and heartware development of the Eco-city. This means focusing on policy innovation to build a sustainable city, improving government services to provide greater convenience to residents, promoting community bonding and encouraging residents to be more eco-conscious.”
The scope of the collaborations between Singapore and China in the Eco-city has also expanded over the years, both in breadth and depth. The Eco-city’s Three-Year Work Plan contains collaborative projects in diverse areas, and sets the stage for the Eco-city’s 10th anniversary in 2018.
At the 8th Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-city Joint Steering Council Meeting held on 13 October 2015, Singapore and China reaffirmed the achievements of the Eco-city, and reiterated their commitment to the Eco-city’s continued development and success.
After the Joint Steering Council Meeting, the Ministry of National Development and the People’s Republic of China Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development signed a Memorandum of Understanding on four joint collaborative projects in the Eco-city: a) Demonstration City for Water Resources Management; b) Smart City development; c) Green Building Demonstration Base; and d) garden project. These four projects are part of the Three-Year Work Plan.
The National Library Board’s subsidiary company, Cybrarian Ventures Pte Ltd1, and the Eco-city Administrative Committee signed a Letter of Intent to incorporate Singapore’s expertise in developing the Eco-city’s main library. The details of the above five projects are in Annex A.
A Letter of Intent was also signed between the Bank of China Singapore Branch and the Tianjin Eco-City Investment & Development Co Ltd on financial services in support of developing the Eco-city.
1 Cybrarian Ventures Private Limited, a wholly-owned company of the National Library Board (NLB), is the international arm for exporting the NLB's expertise in library planning and design, capability development, information technology applications and other services.