Artistic rendering of the Singapore-Sichuan Hi-Tech Innovation Park. Officials say it will be an innovative model city where industry, culture and nature all co-exist in perfect harmony with one another. Photos Provided to China Daily

Roads, facilities now under construction or complete

Construction has already begun on the first 20 projects of the Singapore-Sichuan Hi-Tech Innovation Park, leaders of the park announced recently.

These projects include 10 trunk roads and local roads. Some of the roads in the park opened to traffic at the end of May.

According to Chengdu Hi-Tech Investment Group Co Ltd, which is responsible for the construction of the park, investments in infrastructure are expected to exceed 970 million yuan this year.

The first 20 projects under construction include facilities like substations, an investment center and schools.

According to the group, there will be a hospital, 13 kindergartens, seven primary schools, two middle schools, two police stations and four gas stations in the park. And 17.5 percent of its area will be covered by grass and trees.

An executive with the company said asphalt paving on a 2.8-kilometer road connected to the park was completed at the end of May.

Three other roads will be open to traffic in the first half of this year, with another 10 set to open in the second half.

In addition, there are also plans to construct a further of 720,000 square meters of trunk, secondary and local roads in the park. So far, nearly 260,000 sq m of roads have already been put on the agenda for construction.

A park official said that as of the end of April, nearly 30 companies had shown an interest in settling in the park.

Currently, companies are in talks with the park's management about their plans to launch commercial property projects and set up R&D centers there.

Located inside Tianfu New Area in Zhonghe township, the park has a total area of 10.34 square kilometers and its total planned investment is 100 billion yuan.

About 20 billion yuan will be provided by Sino-Singapore (Chengdu) Innovation Park Development Co Ltd, the developer of this joint program between Chengdu and Singapore. These funds will be used for infrastructure construction and public amenities, and the project will span eight years.

Cui Wei, board director and CEO of the company, said the park will focus on developing eight pillar industries, including IT, service outsourcing and new digital media.

"Upon completion, the park should have a modern urban lifestyle in addition to modern industries," Cui said.

"It should be an innovative model city where industry, culture and nature all co-exist in perfect harmony with one another."

Seven clusters

Cui said there are seven autonomous clusters within the park - the Tianfu Gateway, the High-Tech Area, the Business Center, the Biomedical Center, R&D Showcase, Service Outsourcing and Innovation, and Xinchuan Heartbeat.

Chengdu Metro Line 1 and Line 6, which are currently still being planned, will pass through the park and have eight stations located within. A looping tram service will provide seamless connections between the various cluster cores.

Additionally, intelligent infrastructure and public amenities will be available in the park to make sure people residing and working there have convenient access to living, leisure and study facilities.

The park also lies within the core startup zone of the Tianfu New Area, a special economic zone approved by the Chinese government that has preferential policies in terms of taxation, talent recruitment and land use.

The 2013 Fortune Global Forum, which will take place in Chengdu from June 6 to 8 under the theme of "China's New Future", will offer a new opportunity to develop the park.

To date, senior executives of more than 200 leading international companies, including some Fortune Global 500 companies, have confirmed their participation in the forum.

During the forum, executives from some of the Fortune 500 companies will be invited to visit the Tianfu New Area and the park.

The park can use the event as an opportunity to attract more Fortune 500 companies to settle there in order to form a cluster of top-notch companies from the biomedical sector and other advanced industries and to make the park a benchmark for industry clusters in western China.

[email protected]