Master plan for Sino-S’pore Tianjin Eco-city to be reviewed: DPM

TIANJIN — The master plan for the Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-city (SSTEC) project will be reviewed as the development celebrates its 10th anniversary next year, Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam said on Sunday (June 25).

“We’re now at the inflection point. In a few years time, 2020, when the new MRT line is in place linking the Tianjin Eco-city with the rest of the Binhai new area, the transformation of the region as a whole is going to really take off,” he said while visiting the city.

The details of the review are slated to be announced at a later date.

Mr Tharman also said that Singapore’s water agency, PUB, is sharing expertise with Tianjin officials on water management systems, such as the prevention of floods during the rainy season.

“The authorities view Tianjin Eco-city as a role model in several regards for Xiongan City, which is the new area that’s being planned to serve Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei province. And indeed, there are lessons particularly on the eco-sphere that they’re seeking to borrow,” he added.

Tianjin Eco-city is one of the three flagship projects for China-Singapore government-to-government cooperation. The other two projects are Suzhou Industrial Park and the Chongqing Connectivity Initiative.

Since its inception in 2008, Tianjin Eco-city has steadily expanded, and now has a total population of 70,000.

Mr Tharman also met and was hosted to dinner yesterday by Mr Li Hongzhong, the Chinese Communist Party chief for Tianjin.

Both leaders reaffirmed the excellent relations between Singapore and Tianjin, marked by strong and growing cooperation through the SSTEC project, the Prime Minister’s Office said in a statement.

They also commended the significant progress made by SSTEC, and expressed support for the project’s future development as “a model for innovation and green development in keeping with the progressive development of Singapore-China bilateral relations”.

Mr Tharman will be in China until Thursday. He will also attend the World Economic Forum in Dalian.