Sino‐Singapore Tianjin Eco‐City (Tianjin Eco‐City) is well‐poised to be China’s investment hotspot for global green enterprises as its Eco‐Business Park (EBP) and Eco‐Industrial Park (EIP) continue to make significant progress.
The Sino‐Singapore Tianjin Eco‐City Investment and Development Co., Ltd. (SSTEC) has signed a series of investment deals with nine companies pertaining to sales and leasing, transfer of land use rights as well as the establishment of a joint venture for housing and construction projects. With the inclusion of the latest signings, SSTEC has attracted an additional RMB 1.5 billion worth of industrial investments to Tianjin Eco‐City. This brings the total industrial investments attracted to date to RMB 2.5 billion.
Companies involved in the signings include: Hitachi, Keppel, Philips, ST Engineering, Zhuhai Singyes Renewable Energy Technology, Tianjin House Construction Development Group, PV World, Element Computing Technology and Sichuan Neautus Traditional Chinese Medicine.
Held in conjunction with the inaugural China (Binhai Tianjin) International Eco‐City Forum (Binhai Forum) organized by the People’s Government of Tianjin Binhai New Area (TBNA), these agreements were signed in the presence of Mr Mah Bow Tan, Singapore’s Minister for National Development, Mr Zong Guoying, Deputy Secretary of CPC Binhai New Area Committee and Chief of Binhai New Area Government and other dignitaries.
SSTEC’s strategic eco‐technology partners, namely Hitachi, Philips and ST Engineering, gave a ringing endorsement by committing to establish their regional headquarters in Tianjin Eco‐City. Each of them will take up anchor tenancy in separate office buildings in the EBP. The Tianjin Eco‐City will be these companies’ strategic base for research and Development, eco‐technology showcase and regional sales and distribution activities in Tianjin and Northern China.
"The ST Engineering Group has the expertise and a portfolio of Green engineering solutions for building a sustainable modern city. We are therefore excited to be among the first companies to set‐up our presence in the Tianjin Eco‐Business Park and grow our Northern China operations together with the development of Tianjin Eco‐City. Within the facility, we also plan to build a show room to showcase our overall engineering capabilities and offerings for the China market,’’ said Mr Seah Moon Ming, Deputy CEO, ST Engineering.
SSTEC also sealed four industrial land deals for the EIP and EBP with Zhuhai Singyes Renewable Energy Technology, PV World Pte Ltd, Element Computing Technology and Sichuan Neautus Traditional Chinese Medicine. Keppel Telecommunications and Transportation Ltd, a member of the Keppel Group, also signed a Letter of Intent with STEC to explore the feasibility of developing an integrated logistics distribution centre within the EIP.
In line with Tianjin Eco City’s aim to provide affordable homes, SSTEC has entered into a joint venture with Tianjin House Construction Development Group (ZZJT) to develop public housing for Tianjin Eco‐City. This will help Tianjin Eco City to achieve the target of 20% public housing.
ZZJT will invest several billion renminbi into this joint venture, which will also be involved n the development of ready‐built factories in the EIP as well as white‐ and blue‐collar workers’ dormitories.
As part of its national housing industrialization and green building materials base, ZZJT will also invest RMB 300 million in the EBP to develop a low carbon, energy‐efficient green building to serve the Tianjin Binhai New Area (TBNA). This building will house the following:
- First national housing technology research and development centre; - ZZJT’s research institute headquarters; - ZZJT’s green building materials and eco housing showcase; and - ZZJT’s testing and certification, technology consulting and sales headquarters.
Mr Goh Chye Boon, CEO of SSTEC said, “Since we welcomed our first batch of investors to the Eco‐Industrial Park and Eco‐Business Park over the last year, we are happy to witness steady progress for these two ‘first‐of‐its‐kind in China’ eco‐business platforms. Companies that are already committed with us, such as Hitachi, Philips and ST Engineering, have also expressed repeated interest. This is a testament to Tianjin Eco‐City’s strategic positioning and commercial viability.
"Tianjin Eco City provides the perfect platform for top eco solutions companies to showcase practical solutions to reduce energy consumption and improve the environment. Whilst SSTEC is already in close collaboration with many global eco solutions providers, we welcome more partners to join us in achieving our vision of creating an Eco City, which will be the model for future cities in China.”
The EBP, which covers a planned area of 26.6 hectares (ha), is set to be the premier hub for global eco‐businesses in the Tianjin Binhai New Area and the Bohai Rim. It will serve Northern China’s growing need for clean and green technologies and sustainable urban solutions. When fully completed, the EBP is expected to create over 15,000 white‐collar jobs, which will attract new residents and generate more economic spin‐offs.
The 130‐ha EIP is expected to draw RMB 4 billion worth of investments and create 10,000 new jobs when completed. Located at the northern region of Eco‐City and next to major highways linking it to the Tianjin Port, Tianjin Airport, Tianjin City and Beijing, the EIP is positioned to be the premier manufacturing base for investors in the Bohai Rim area. It will be built completely in compliance to Eco‐City’s green building standards. The EIP will be home to light clean industries including but not limited to clean energy, green building, green transport, clean water, clean waste management and clean environment.
