Agreement inked to further develop Tianjin Eco-City as a test bed for sustainability solutions

The Tianjin Eco-City project in China, which spans 30km, is a platform for China and Singapore to explore new collaborations, pilot new ideas and share best practices in sustainable development. PHOTO: SINO-SINGAPORE TIANJIN ECO-CITY ADMINISTRATIVE COMMITTEE

SINGAPORE - Tianjin Eco-City, the second flagship project between Singapore and China, is poised to deepen its reputation as a test bed for sustainability solutions with two agreements inked on Tuesday.

The first memorandum of understanding aims to develop and apply smart technologies and solutions for sustainability to support the eco-city’s growth into a low-carbon city.

It will also nurture education, research and entrepreneurial talents and promote people-to-people exchanges between Singapore and Tianjin, a coastal city of 13 million people.

This was among the outcomes of the 14th Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-City Joint Steering Council Meeting held on Tuesday at the Four Seasons Hotel in Singapore.

The agreement was inked between the Singapore University of Technology and Design, the Tianjin Eco-City Administrative Committee and the eco-city’s master developer, Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-City Investment and Development.

The meeting was held alongside the top-level annual Joint Council for Bilateral Cooperation co-chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat and Chinese Vice-Premier Han Zheng.

Launched in 2008, the Tianjin Eco-City project, which spans 30km, is a platform for both countries to explore new collaborations, pilot new ideas and share best practices in sustainable development. More than 130,000 people live or work in the eco-city today.

The second agreement, between the Tianjin Eco-City Administrative Committee and the Civil Service College Singapore, commits both sides to holding regular exchanges between officials on topics such as emergency and disaster management.

At his wrap-up interview with the local media, Mr Heng said Tianjin Eco-City can serve as a very good test bed for new, innovative solutions that the world will need as countries seek to tackle the effects of climate change.

Minister for National Development Desmond Lee, who was among the ministers attending the joint meeting, said Tianjin Eco-City is today a “front runner and model for sustainable urban development”, 14 years after both countries set out to transform the area from a barren wasteland into a liveable city.

The new agreement on training of officials is one example of how both sides continue to enhance bilateral cooperation on the eco-city project through knowledge sharing and exchanges, which can help strengthen resilience against climate change, said Mr Lee.

Meanwhile, progress has also been made on the Chongqing Connectivity Initiative (CCI). Launched in 2015 as Singapore’s third inter-government project with China, the CCI aims to catalyse economic growth in western China by enhancing connectivity within and beyond the country.

The 6th Joint Steering Committee meeting for the project, also held on Tuesday, noted that the CCI has continued to serve as a priority demonstration project for China’s developmental strategies and enhanced connectivity between South-east Asia and western China.

Singapore’s Ministry of Trade and Industry, China’s Ministry of Commerce and the Chongqing municipal government also inked a new agreement on Tuesday to further develop an international land-sea trade corridor that has already reduced the time needed to transport goods between western China and South-east Asia from three weeks to one.

The new agreement includes strengthening trade facilitation initiatives along the trade corridor, and the forming of a work group to enhance the trade corridor’s overall policy environment.

In terms of air links, an increase in passenger capacity for the weekly Singapore-Chongqing flight route was approved in July. This raised the limit from 153 to 250, allowing more in-person exchanges between the two cities.

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