Singapore's Keppel Corporation on Tuesday signed the Memorandum of Understanding wiith the Guangzhou government to conduct a feasibility study on jointly developing the project in southern China's Guangzhou city.

The Knowledge City - proposed by Keppel - is envisaged to be a vibrant and ecologically friendly city with conducive conditions for attracting and developing talent, skilled manpower and knowledge-based industries.

It will be a greenfield development of about 50 sq km. The Guangdong provincial government and Keppel have decided to site the Knowledge City at the Guangzhou Development District North Zone, in the eastern part of Guangzhou Municipality. This site is about 35 km from the Guangzhou city centre and 24 km from the Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport, and it is well served by expressways.

The joint feasibility study is expected to take four months to complete.

While the Knowledge City project is commercially driven, it enjoys the strong support from the Singapore and Guangdong governments.

Singapore Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong, in a keynote speech at the Singapore-Guangdong Development Forum in Guangdong's provincial capital Guangzhou on Tuesday, said that Singapore has to constantly reinvent itself , always trying to move into new economic areas.

'I am glad to know that Guangdong is also doing the same,' he said, noting that it is never easy to venture out of one's comfort zone and explore new possibilities. Guangdong, in restructuring its economy, is embracing new industries and pursuing new growth strategies.

'Singapore is happy to participate in Guangdong's effort to restructure its economy. We could be a source for capital, technology, advanced services and ideas. We can be a bridge between East and West and between Guangdong and Asean,' added Mr Goh, who is on a five-day visit in Guangdong.

At Tuesday's Forum, Mr Goh also witnessed the signing of the MOU by Singapore and Guangdong to set up the Singapore-Guangdong Collaboration Council (SGCC) - the seventh bilateral economic council between Singapore and China.

The SGCC will focus on promoting collaboration in areas such as urban solutions, port operations and logistics, education, environmental services, infrastructure services, infocomm technology, tourism and other modern services. In addition, the Council will facilitate the internationalisation efforts of Guangdong enterprises by helping them to establish a presence or raise funds in Singapore.