Singapore's real estate giant Keppel Group has begun construction Friday on its 35.4-hectare development of eco-homes in the Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-City.

It is the first foreign property developer to push ahead with the construction of eco-homes in the Eco-city.

The homes and commercial properties will be developed according to the Tianjin Eco-City’s Green Building Evaluation Standard and Green Mark Gold standard of the Building and Construction Authority of Singapore, according to Keppel.

The buildings are designed to save water and energy consumption by 20 percent and will be equipped with a vacuum-aided rubbish recycling system.

“This will be Keppel’s showcase for sustainable developments in China and we will realize the vision of establishing a vibrant community in a desirable eco-driven live-work-play environment in Tianjin Eco-City,” said Mr Choo Chiau Beng, CEO of Keppel Corporation.

The Tianjin Eco-city, located in Tianjin’s Binhai New Area, is China's first eco-city and a landmark project between the Chinese and Singaporean governments after the Suzhou Industrial Park. The 30 square-kilometer eco-city is designed to create a harmonious and sustainable township where 350,000 residents can live, work and play, one which can be replicated throughout urbanizing China, according to the Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-City Investment and Development Co.

By Guo Changdong