The government of Tianjin Municipality has said it may start building an ecological town in Binhai New Area as early as July, the China News Service reported yesterday.

The government said in a notice on its Website that it would seek public suggestions on the Sino-Singaporean project.

It will be submitted to the government for approval after the public has had a chance to comment.

Premier Wen Jiabao and Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong signed the deal in which an ecological town is to be built 45 kilometers from downtown Tianjin and 150 kilometers southeast of Beijing.

Upon completion, the 30-square-kilometer town will be home to 350,000 people, the report said.

The town will be built on alkaline soil and shallow beach and boast a desalination plant and sewage-treatment system to emulate the practice in Singapore.

The plan also calls for a legal approach to obtaining land for the project. Arable land shouldn't be encroached upon, the report said.

The project is expected to cost an estimated 50 billion yuan (US$7.15 billion).

The town will develop environmentally friendly engineering and modern service industries as the pillar of its economy, the report said.

Tianjin won the bid to build the ecological town after vying with Beijing and Hebei Province's Langfang and Tangshan cities last year. Construction is expected to be completed in 10 to 15 years.

(Xinhua News Agency May 8, 2008)