Construction of the transport infrastructure within the 4-sq-km Sino-Singaporean Eco-city start-up area of Tianjin has begun, a local official said yesterday.

Construction of the 30-sq-km city will start next month, Gou Lijun, director of the Tianjin Binhai New Area administrative committee said at a press conference held at the Beijing International Media Center.

In April, the Chinese and Singaporean governments approved a development plan for the eco-city. It will be the second flagship Sino-Singaporean cooperation project since the Suzhou Industrial Park and will draw on Singapore's eco-conservation experience in regard to efficient energy use and environmental protection.

The green development model will guide Tianjin, a city of limited resources, in sustainable development, analysts have said.

The index system will act as a major eco-protection criterion for the city's ecological targets, drafted and approved by the two governments, Gou said.

The key performance index includes air, water, transport, forestation, energy efficiency and waste management, earlier reports by Singapore-based Zaobao Daily said.

But it will not, like certain other cities, pursue a "zero CO2 emission", the newspaper quoted Ma Baoshan, the minister of Singapore's National Development Department, as saying.

More than 90 percent of the traffic in the eco-city will be low-pollution public transport, Chinese newspapers reported.

The eco-city will be guided by Singapore's use of solar and wind power, and experience in rainwater recycling, as well as wastewater treatment and desalinization of sea water, Gou said.

The eco-city, which is located 40 km from Tianjin city and 150 km from Beijing, will cover 10 sq km of salt pan, 10 sq km of desert and 10 sq km of watered, but low quality, land, he said.

Located along the Jiyun River in Tianjin's Hangu district, the area will comprise residences, commercial space and factories, all of which will comply with international standards of energy use and environmental protection, he said.

(China Daily August 13, 2008)