- Joined
- Oct 26, 2008
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Found this!
<table width="100%" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tbody><tr class="msghead"><td><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tbody><tr class="msghead" valign="top"><td class="msgF" width="1%" align="right" nowrap="nowrap">
</td><td class="msgFname" width="68%" nowrap="nowrap">teh_si <nobr></nobr> </td><td class="msgDate" width="30%" align="right" nowrap="nowrap">Dec-26 8:26 pm </td></tr> <tr class="msghead"><td class="msgT" width="1%" align="right" height="20" nowrap="nowrap">To: </td><td class="msgTname" width="68%" nowrap="nowrap">ALL <nobr></nobr></td> <td class="msgNum" align="right" nowrap="nowrap"> (1 of 16) </td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr><tr><td rowspan="4" class="msgleft" width="1%"> </td><td class="wintiny" align="right" nowrap="nowrap">26324.1 </td></tr><tr><td height="8">
</td></tr> <tr><td class="msgtxt">why has PAP not learnt its lesson?
======
Dec 27, 2009
Rumblings in Tianjin Eco-City
Differences between S'pore, Tianjin sides on priorities and timing create speed bumps
<!-- by line --> By Grace Ng, China Correspondent
<!-- end by line --><!-- end left side bar -->
Despite tensions sparked by disagreements among the parties involved, for instance over what projects to pursue, the Tianjin Eco-City project (depicted in an artist's impression above) has snagged S$6 billion worth of investments and attracted big-name partners like Philips and major developers from the region. -- PHOTO: KEPPEL CORP
View more photos
<!-- story content : start --> Tianjin: When the Tianjin Eco-City announced in October that it was building a Singapore-style public housing project, it hit all the right notes.
The apartments would not only be environmentally friendly, but also offer green living for the rich and the poor, fostering social harmony.
The announcement - coming on top of the staggering 29.5 billion yuan (S$6 billion) worth of investments the development has snagged in just two years - added sheen to the Eco-City.
These achievements will likely be catalogued when the Eco-City's management holds a year-end briefing this week.
While there is indeed much to celebrate, it may not be all that smooth sailing for the Eco-City, project insiders from both the Singapore and Chinese sides told The Sunday Times. Singaporean and Chinese officials do not see eye to eye on such things as work priorities and timing. Within the Singapore team, there is said to be some rumblings among the different arms.
Said a Singaporean, who has lived in China for over a decade and works for a company with close dealings with the Eco-City: 'We may have another Suzhou Industrial Park tangle on our hands.'
In the Suzhou Industrial Park (SIP) project, the Singapore and Chinese sides clashed over differences in business cultures and incentives, particularly when the local government built a rival park that competed directly with the SIP.
In Tianjin, the nascent worries are somewhat different.
One source of tension, for example, is that local officials appear to be no longer willing disciples of the foreign experts, according to Singapore sources. Unlike 15 years ago, when Singapore's know-how was sought after in Suzhou, China's breakneck economic development since then has prompted Tianjin officials to ask tough questions about whether Singapore can still offer them a unique advantage.
After all, many of the Chinese officials have been trained abroad, including in Singapore, and have been courted by numerous foreign investors. A Singapore source recalled how, for example, the Tianjin side cut short a discussion on improving the efficiency of a certain reporting process and told the Singapore officer: 'We have already learnt Western management techniques. Now, we can do it our way.'
Said a Singapore official: 'Singapore has learnt much from the Suzhou experience. But now, we have a new batch of people working on the Eco-City, and we also face new challenges in China, not least the question: What value-add does Singapore have to share with China that it hasn't already had?'
A problem that Singapore officials faced in Suzhou continues to dog those in Tianjin: The Singaporeans do not always have the same priorities as local officials.
'We have very strong high-level government links - but not with officials at the lower and provincial levels,' said a staff at the Eco-City's master planner, the Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-City Investment and Development (SSTEC).
'It's the Tianjin officials' support we need to get things done - be it focusing only on green projects, building a light-rail transit line in the Eco-City or creating a community mix of different income groups.'
That support, however, is not always forthcoming because Singapore and Tianjin officials sometimes have different ideas about the types of projects to pursue.
A key priority for some Tianjin officials is to build eye-catching projects with tangible results, such as big factories and large residential estates that will earn them a promotion every three years. To many, the bigger the project, the better.
With Premier Wen Jiabao scheduled to visit the Eco-City in April or May next year, there is an even greater urgency for these officials to produce tangible results.
However, the Singaporeans prefer to pay much closer attention to the pace of development and the 'software' side, such as urban planning and the setting up of other infrastructure, not just buildings.
So, while the Tianjin side wants to have one million sq m of gross floor area of housing - an area the size of 21/2 Tiananmen Squares - this year, its counterpart is concerned whether there will be enough demand for the apartments. And though Singapore would like to have Housing Board-style public housing that will cater to low-income Chinese, Tianjin officials have been lukewarm to the idea because they worry over who will stump up the cash to subsidise the apartments.
According to Singapore sources, a Tianjin official apparently whispered to his Singaporean counterpart: 'By the time the public housing project is completed, many of...[Message truncated]</td></tr> <tr><td colspan="2" class="msgVFM" align="center">View Full Message</td></tr></tbody></table>
<table width="100%" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tbody><tr class="msghead"><td><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tbody><tr class="msghead" valign="top"><td class="msgF" width="1%" align="right" nowrap="nowrap">
</td><td class="msgFname" width="68%" nowrap="nowrap">teh_si <nobr></nobr> </td><td class="msgDate" width="30%" align="right" nowrap="nowrap">Dec-26 8:26 pm </td></tr> <tr class="msghead"><td class="msgT" width="1%" align="right" height="20" nowrap="nowrap">To: </td><td class="msgTname" width="68%" nowrap="nowrap">ALL <nobr></nobr></td> <td class="msgNum" align="right" nowrap="nowrap"> (1 of 16) </td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr><tr><td rowspan="4" class="msgleft" width="1%"> </td><td class="wintiny" align="right" nowrap="nowrap">26324.1 </td></tr><tr><td height="8">
</td></tr> <tr><td class="msgtxt">why has PAP not learnt its lesson?
======
Dec 27, 2009
Rumblings in Tianjin Eco-City
Differences between S'pore, Tianjin sides on priorities and timing create speed bumps
<!-- by line --> By Grace Ng, China Correspondent
<!-- end by line --><!-- end left side bar -->
Despite tensions sparked by disagreements among the parties involved, for instance over what projects to pursue, the Tianjin Eco-City project (depicted in an artist's impression above) has snagged S$6 billion worth of investments and attracted big-name partners like Philips and major developers from the region. -- PHOTO: KEPPEL CORP
<!-- story content : start --> Tianjin: When the Tianjin Eco-City announced in October that it was building a Singapore-style public housing project, it hit all the right notes.
The apartments would not only be environmentally friendly, but also offer green living for the rich and the poor, fostering social harmony.
The announcement - coming on top of the staggering 29.5 billion yuan (S$6 billion) worth of investments the development has snagged in just two years - added sheen to the Eco-City.
These achievements will likely be catalogued when the Eco-City's management holds a year-end briefing this week.
While there is indeed much to celebrate, it may not be all that smooth sailing for the Eco-City, project insiders from both the Singapore and Chinese sides told The Sunday Times. Singaporean and Chinese officials do not see eye to eye on such things as work priorities and timing. Within the Singapore team, there is said to be some rumblings among the different arms.
Said a Singaporean, who has lived in China for over a decade and works for a company with close dealings with the Eco-City: 'We may have another Suzhou Industrial Park tangle on our hands.'
In the Suzhou Industrial Park (SIP) project, the Singapore and Chinese sides clashed over differences in business cultures and incentives, particularly when the local government built a rival park that competed directly with the SIP.
In Tianjin, the nascent worries are somewhat different.
One source of tension, for example, is that local officials appear to be no longer willing disciples of the foreign experts, according to Singapore sources. Unlike 15 years ago, when Singapore's know-how was sought after in Suzhou, China's breakneck economic development since then has prompted Tianjin officials to ask tough questions about whether Singapore can still offer them a unique advantage.
After all, many of the Chinese officials have been trained abroad, including in Singapore, and have been courted by numerous foreign investors. A Singapore source recalled how, for example, the Tianjin side cut short a discussion on improving the efficiency of a certain reporting process and told the Singapore officer: 'We have already learnt Western management techniques. Now, we can do it our way.'
Said a Singapore official: 'Singapore has learnt much from the Suzhou experience. But now, we have a new batch of people working on the Eco-City, and we also face new challenges in China, not least the question: What value-add does Singapore have to share with China that it hasn't already had?'
A problem that Singapore officials faced in Suzhou continues to dog those in Tianjin: The Singaporeans do not always have the same priorities as local officials.
'We have very strong high-level government links - but not with officials at the lower and provincial levels,' said a staff at the Eco-City's master planner, the Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-City Investment and Development (SSTEC).
'It's the Tianjin officials' support we need to get things done - be it focusing only on green projects, building a light-rail transit line in the Eco-City or creating a community mix of different income groups.'
That support, however, is not always forthcoming because Singapore and Tianjin officials sometimes have different ideas about the types of projects to pursue.
A key priority for some Tianjin officials is to build eye-catching projects with tangible results, such as big factories and large residential estates that will earn them a promotion every three years. To many, the bigger the project, the better.
With Premier Wen Jiabao scheduled to visit the Eco-City in April or May next year, there is an even greater urgency for these officials to produce tangible results.
However, the Singaporeans prefer to pay much closer attention to the pace of development and the 'software' side, such as urban planning and the setting up of other infrastructure, not just buildings.
So, while the Tianjin side wants to have one million sq m of gross floor area of housing - an area the size of 21/2 Tiananmen Squares - this year, its counterpart is concerned whether there will be enough demand for the apartments. And though Singapore would like to have Housing Board-style public housing that will cater to low-income Chinese, Tianjin officials have been lukewarm to the idea because they worry over who will stump up the cash to subsidise the apartments.
According to Singapore sources, a Tianjin official apparently whispered to his Singaporean counterpart: 'By the time the public housing project is completed, many of...[Message truncated]</td></tr> <tr><td colspan="2" class="msgVFM" align="center">View Full Message</td></tr></tbody></table>
Oh a mistake here! How much "WE" can afford to lose!:oIo:
