BT : Industrial land deals worth 1b yuan for Tianjin Eco-City

Business Times - 06 May 2010

Industrial land deals worth 1b yuan for Tianjin Eco-City

By CHAN YUPING

SINO-SINGAPORE Tianjin Eco-City Investment and Development Co Ltd (SSTEC) has signed three more industrial land deals worth more than one billion yuan (S$203.9 million) in investments in the Eco Business Park and the Eco Industrial Park.

Tianjin House Construction Development Group Co Ltd, one of China's largest eco-building-materials companies, plans to invest 300 million yuan to develop energy-efficient buildings in the Eco-Business Park to house China's first sustainable housing R&D institute.

Keppel DHCS, a wholly owned subsidiary of Keppel Integrated Engineering, plans to develop and operate a district heating and cooling system in the same park. And Sichuan Neautus Traditional Chinese Medicine plans to invest 500 million yuan for the processing and distribution of Chinese herbal slices.

Yesterday, SSTEC also announced strategic collaborations with three leading eco-technology companies including Hitachi Group and Singapore Technologies Electronics (ST Electronics). Its collaboration with ST Electronics will allow for the development of eco-solutions for intelligent building management and energy saving systems.

Commenting on the steady stream of investors into the Eco City, SSTEC chief executive officer Goh Chye Boon said: 'This will complement the eco development needs of Tianjin Eco-City and create high quality job opportunities to draw new residents into the Eco-City.'

SSTEC has also signed a nine billion yuan agreement with Sunway City Bhd (SunCity), one of Malaysia's top developers, to develop an integrated LOHAS (Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability) community.

This joint development, which includes premium waterfront villas, mid- to high-rise apartments, schools and retail malls, will have a gross floor area of more than 0.7 million square metres and a capacity for nearly 5,000 households. It will also include unique features such as hydroponic gardens, green houses for organic farming, green spas and youth parks. Sunway has indicated earlier that the estimated pricing for the SunCity houses in the Tianjin Eco-City will be about RM500 (S$215) psf.

SSTEC is a 50:50 joint venture between the Chinese consortium led by Tianjin TEDA Investment Holding Co Ltd and the Singapore consortium led by the Keppel Group.

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