AGREEMENTS TO DEVELOP ECO-CITY IN CHINA SIGNED Singapore, 18 Nov 2007 The Governments of the People's Republic of China (PRC) and the Republic of Singapore signed two agreements on the development of an Eco-city in the PRC at the Istana today. The Eco-city will be located in Tianjin, and will be called the Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-city . 2 PRC and Singapore had agreed to collaborate on this new project during discussions between Premier Wen Jiabao and Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong in Beijing in April 2007. Framework Agreement 3 Premier Wen Jiabao and Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong signed the "Framework Agreement on the Development of an Eco-city in the PRC". The vision for the Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-city is a "thriving city, which is socially harmonious, environmentally friendly and resource-efficient area - a model for sustainable development". 4 Under the Framework Agreement, the PRC and Singapore will collaborate to share their expertise and experiences in the formulation of policies and programmes to engender social harmony as well as in urban planning, environmental protection, resource conservation, recycling, ecological infrastructure development, use of renewable resources, reuse of wastewater, and sustainable development in the development of the Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-city. 5 The Framework Agreement also spells out the supervision mechanism for the Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-city project. Deputy Prime Minister Wong Kan Seng and Vice-Premier Wu Yi will jointly chair a Singapore-PRC Joint Steering Committee (JSC) under the Joint Council for Bilateral Cooperation (JCBC), comprising heads of the relevant ministries and government agencies from both countries and the Tianjin Municipal Government in the PRC. The JSC will oversee all major issues relating to the development of the Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-city. A Joint Working Committee (JWC), co-chaired by Minister for National Development Mah Bow Tan and the PRC Minister for Construction Wang Guangtao and reporting to the JSC, will be set up to address issues and problems related to the development of the Eco-City. Supplementary Agreement 6 Minister Mah Bow Tan and Minister Wang Guangtao signed a Supplementary Agreement to facilitate and support the joint development of the Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-city in accordance with the Framework Agreement. 7 Under the Supplementary Agreement, the key outcomes of the development of the Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-city shall be to (a) build a vibrant local economy with good environmental conditions, (b) foster the formation of socially harmonious and inclusive communities, (c) adopt good environmental technologies and practices so as to create an attractive quality living environment and (d) serve as reference for other cities in the PRC in the management, technological and policy aspects of the development and protection of their ecological environment. Joint Venture Company 8 The Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-city will be developed by a joint venture company formed by a Singapore Consortium, which is led by Keppel Corporation, and a PRC Consortium which comprises PRC companies such as the Tianjin Binhai New Area Urban Infrastructure Construction Investment Co. Ltd, Tianjin TEDA Investment Holdings Co. Ltd and the China Development Bank. Significance of Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-city Project 9 The development of the Eco-city will demonstrate the determination of the two countries in building a harmonious society, tackling global climate changes, strengthening environmental protection, and conserving resource and energy, which would serve as a model for sustainable development for other cities in the PRC. The Eco-city project would be the most significant collaborative project between Singapore and the PRC since the development of the Suzhou Industrial Park. Issued by : Ministry of National Development Date : 18 Nov 2007 << Back