The master developer of the Sino- Singapore Tianjin Eco-city will have a new chief executive officer next month after current CEO Liew Choon Boon resigned.

The incoming head is Mr Tay Lim Heng, director of group risk and compliance at Keppel Corporation, a press statement from Keppel Corp said last night.

Mr Liew, who took the top job at the Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-city Investment and Development Company (SSTEC) in July last year, has resigned for personal reasons, the statement added.

Mr Liew, 48, is understood to be currently on medical leave.

The government-led eco-city project, which broke ground in 2008, is for a 30 sq km green township in the north-eastern port city. It now has more than 50,000 residents and 3,500 registered companies.

Mr Tay, 52, who has held various positions in the Keppel Group, will take up his new post from Oct 1.

He will also hold a concurrent appointment as an adviser on eco-city matters in the Ministry of National Development (MND).

Before joining Keppel, Mr Tay was a deputy secretary at MND, where he oversaw the development of the Tianjin Eco-city.

He was previously chief executive of the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore, and also held various key appointments in the Singapore Armed Forces.

"Lim Heng has been involved in the SSTEC project in different capacities since 2009," Keppel Corp chief executive Loh Chin Hua said in the statement.

"He brings to the project a wide range of experience from both the Keppel Group and the public sector," he added.

Mr Loh also thanked Mr Liew for his contributions to the Tianjin Eco-city project.

Chong Koh Ping