Published March 26, 2009

High-end production, research focus of 'city'

Keppel chairman says that's the main difference with the Tianjin eco-city

By CHEW XIANG IN GUANGZHOU, CHINA

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HIGH-END manufacturing and research are expected to be the focus of Keppel Corp's planned 'knowledge city' project in Guangzhou, said chairman Lim Chee Onn yesterday.

Mr Lim Chee Onn says that as cities in the province suffer from poor air quality, the new project would focus on creating pleasant living conditions.

Speaking to reporters the morning after a memorandum of understanding was signed with a Guangzhou state-owned enterprise, Mr Lim said that was the conceptual difference with another mega project it is involved in, the Tianjin eco-city in the north-eastern municipality.

'That's more environment-based, this is more (focused on) manufacturing, high-tech manufacturing,' he said. 'It's a different type of research.'

Another key difference is that 'this is a commercial proposition', said Mr Lim.

'That's why we signed the MOU with a commercial entity,' he added, describing the local partner, Guangzhou Development District, as like a combination of Singapore's JTC and Economic Development Board, but run as a state-owned enterprise.

The project has, however, received high level backing from senior government figures from both sides. Guangdong officials say that they see the knowledge city project as a way to kickstart reform of the labour-intensive manufacturing base in the Pearl River delta area.

Singapore's Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong meanwhile told party and city leaders from Shenzhen and Foshan yesterday that the government has pledged its support in what he called a 'very big venture'.

While waiting for the economic storm to run its course, he said, Singapore could develop new capabilities in, for instance, city building, and offer them to its partners.

Mr Goh, who visited both cities as part of a five-day official tour of the region, said he was there to open doors for Singapore and Singaporean businesses.

But the focus so far has been on urban planning with Mr Lim as well as renowned architect and former HDB chief Liu Thai Ker among those accompanying his delegation, as well as senior ministers of state Grace Fu and Lui Tuck Yew.

The Pearl River delta 'growth triangle' was in the vanguard of China's economic reforms thirty years ago and has grown hugely since then, but at heavy cost to the environment.

The province of Guangdong has about 100 million people and a number of heavy manufacturing centres, such as Dongguan, Shenzhen and Foshan, but its cities are frequently wreathed in smog and air quality is notoriously poor.

Mr Lim said the new project would therefore focus on creating pleasant living conditions.

'You must have an environment that is attractive for people to want to live in. If you are in highly polluted location, you will move,' he said.

A feasibility study is expected to throw up greater details when completed in four months.

'One of the most challenging aspects of the study is not (the) commercial (aspects), it's the nature of the project. We have to customise this, we cannot just bring, say, Buona Vista and stick it here, it will be a disaster.'

In time, the 'knowledge city' could be even larger than the Tianjin eco-city, with an initial 50 sq km allocated, against 30 sq km in Tianjin, he said.

'What they want to know is to reform their economic structure and move towards high value-added (industries). We told them that one success factor for restructuring the economy is talent, skills . . . this whole concept is what the 'knowledge city' is about.'