Pacts inked to deepen partnership in Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-City

SEVERAL agreements were inked on Tuesday to broaden and deepen partnership between Singapore and China in the Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-City.

After the bilateral project's Joint Steering Council Meeting held at Shangri-La Hotel, Singapore's Ministry of National Development (MND) and China's Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development signed a memorandum of understanding on four joint collaborative projects in the eco-city.

These projects include a demonstration city for water resources management, smart city development, a green building demonstration base, and a garden project. These are part of the three-year work plan.

Singapore's National Library Board's subsidiary company, Cybrarian Ventures Pte Ltd, and the eco-city's Administrative Committee signed a letter of intent to incorporate Singapore's expertise in developing the eco-city's main library.

A letter of intent was also inked 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.

Since the eco-city project broke ground in 2008, the initial focus was on rehabilitating the salt land and building the infrastructure. It welcomed the first residents in 2012. The number of people living or working in the city has since doubled from 20,000 in 2014 to 40,000 in 2015.

Prior to the signing ceremony on Monday, Chinese Vice-Premier Zhang Gaoli also met Singapore's Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean. The duo co-chaired the 17th Suzhou Industrial Park Joint Steering Council Meeting, the 8th Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-City Joint Steering Council Meeting and the 12th Joint Council for Bilateral Cooperation Meeting, the two countries' highest-level bilateral meeting.