Keppel Corp signs agreement with Guangzhou for a feasibility study
By
Tracy Quek, China Correspondent
Mr Lim and Mr Xue shake hands after signing the MOU, witnessed by SM Goh (left) and Mr Wang (third from left). -- PHOTO: KEPPEL CORPORATION
GUANGZHOU - A LIVEABLE city buzzing with economic activity where top talent from China and around the world can put down roots. A training base to nurture a highly skilled workforce.
The proposed Knowledge City, says Singapore Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong, will also be an 'icon' of the close relationship between Singapore and southern Guangdong province.
Talent and skills
WHERE: The Knowledge City will be located in the Guangzhou Development District north zone - an area devoted to science and technology projects.
The site is about 35km from Guangzhou city centre and 24km from the Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport, and well served by expressways.
Mr Goh was speaking at a Singapore-Guangdong Development forum attended by more than 500 officials and businessmen from both sides yesterday.
The Knowledge City project will be Keppel Corporation's first iconic collaboration with Guangzhou, Guangdong's capital city. It is expected to be built from scratch over 50 sq km in a development area earmarked for science and technology projects in eastern Guangzhou.
Keppel chairman Lim Chee Onn and Mr Xue Xiaofeng, chairman of the Guangzhou Development District Administrative Committee, yesterday inked an agreement for a feasibility study into the project over the next four months.
The signing was witnessed by SM Goh, Guangdong party secretary Wang Yang and other senior officials, signalling strong support from both governments for the commercially driven project.
Keppel proposed the project to the Guangzhou authorities last month, after Beijing approved a plan to upgrade and restructure the Pearl River Delta (PRD), China's main manufacturing and export base, said Mr Lim.
The PRD region covers Guangzhou, eight other major cities in Guangdong, as well as Macau and Hong Kong.
'A knowledge city, in our view, fits very nicely with China's central government's plan for reorganising the economic activities in the Pearl River Delta,' Mr Lim told reporters after the signing.
The PRD has prospered on the back of low-end manufacturing for decades. Under the reform plan, the region should move towards high-end sectors including financial services, services and high-technology industries in order to remain relevant in the years ahead.
Read the full story in today's edition of The Straits Times.
