Eco-city poised for leading role

By Rong Xiaozheng and Wang Yu

Workers hang a poster depicting the details of Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-city. Du Yu / for China Daily

TIANJIN - The coastal city of Tianjin aims to set a global benchmark for eco-cities, officials said on Tuesday.

Zeng Peiyan, former vice-premier and president of the China Center for International Economic Exchanges, said that in line with the spirit of scientific development, the Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-city is expected to serve as a role model for harmonious co-existence between humans and nature.

Through the energy-efficient and environmentally friendly eco-city, Tianjin will offer valuable experiences for its counterparts from both home and abroad to follow suit, he said.

Tianjin major Huang Xingguo said the construction of eco-cities has become an issue of global concern and it is an unavoidable step for a city to achieve sustainable development.

Tianjin, as an identified economic center of North China, has been attaching great importance to raising energy efficiency, strengthening environmental protection, developing a low-carbon economy and cutting emission, Huang said.

The construction of the Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-city has fully demonstrated Tianjin's efforts and achievements in terms of building up an ecologically friendly city.

Tianjin has set up a slew of targets and measures to guarantee the construction of an eco-city, with explicit systems and benchmarks created to guide the specific design and construction steps, said Peng Sen, vice-minister of the National Development and Reform Commission.

So far, the Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-city has seen more than 200 enterprises settling down within the community, with a total investment of 21 billion yuan ($3.14 billion).

"It is expected that by 2020, the eco-city will create 80,000 to 100,000 jobs, generating a total of 40 to 50 billion yuan of GDP," said Cui Guangzhi, vice-chairman of the Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-City Administrative Committee.

Long overshadowed by Beijing, Tianjin now has an upper hand in terms of designing new mega housing complexes, thanks to its new eco-city.