SINGAPORE - Singapore-based urban, infrastructure and managed services consulting firm Surbana Jurong will have a hand in conceptualising and creating a zero-carbon industrial park in Yancheng, a city in Jiangsu province in China.
It is one of a number of Singapore companies to explore opportunities and expand partnerships across various sectors in the eastern coastal province, with 13 commercial agreements inked at the 16th Singapore-Jiangsu Cooperation Council meeting on Wednesday.
The meeting was co-chaired by Ms Indranee Rajah, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office and Second Minister for Finance and National Development, and Jiangsu Governor Xu Kunlin.
At the meeting, both leaders reaffirmed the strong ties between Singapore and Jiangsu, and highlighted opportunities to strengthen cooperation in areas such as green development and innovation.
Surbana Jurong signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Envision Energy and the Sheyang county government to conceptualise and create a zero-carbon industrial park in Yancheng city.
The construction of the industrial park is expected to take about 15 years and will span 6,250ha, about 13 times the size of Sentosa island.
“We are positioning ourselves to help China in meeting its dual carbon goal, as well as having a shared vision with our clients, Envision. We have also worked with our clients to develop a zero-carbon industrial park standard in China,” said Mr Lim Hong Kian, who heads the North Asia division of Surbana Jurong.
China’s dual carbon goal is to peak carbon dioxide emissions before 2030, and achieve carbon neutrality before 2060.
Besides Surbana Jurong’s project, MOUs were also signed for 12 other commercial projects, as well as three government-linked MOUs.
In one agreement, PSA China will be working with the Lianyungang Port Group to install renewable energy assets generating clean electricity at its port terminals in Lianyungang.
One of the government MOUs was for the Civil Service College and the Suzhou Industrial Park Administrative Committee, to enhance cooperation mainly through mutual learning, exchange visits, collaborations, and sharing of training and teaching resources.
This will enhance Singapore-China bilateral cooperation and joint training of public servants on both sides.
Economic ties between Singapore and Jiangsu have seen steady growth over the year, with bilateral trade growing 12.5 per cent year on year to reach US$12.8 billion (S$17.3 billion) in the first three quarters of 2022, according to Enterprise Singapore in a statement on Wednesday.
In this same period, Singapore’s direct investments into Jiangsu amounted to US$2.1 billion, which surpassed the full-year investments of US$1.4 billion in 2021.
Given Singapore’s location and proximity to potential markets, supportive ecosystem and international connectivity, the country is a good venue from which Jiangsu companies can launch their regional and international ventures, said Ms Indranee in her speech at the meeting on Wednesday.
