Ayala Land unit ties up with foreign firm for China project

MANILA, Philippines - Ayala Land Inc., through wholly-owned unit Regent Wise Investments Inc., has forged an agreement with Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-City Investment & Development Co. to develop a $220-million 19-tower residential complex in China, marking its initially foray into the growing Chinese market.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, ALI deputy compliance officer Alfonso Javier D. Reyes said the project, will rise on a 9.78-hectare property within the 3,000-hectare Tianjin Eco-City.

The residential complex, which will come online in two phases, will make available more than 1,100 units. The first phase involves the construction of 11 towers beginning this yearend with a completion target of 20 months.

To be designed by AECOM, one of the top US design consultants, the project is ideally located and will be among the first developments that visitors will see when they enter the Eco-City, a collaboration between the Chinese and Singaporean governments which will showcase the future direction of urban planning and sustainable development.

Leveraging on China’s and Singapore’s experience in integrating urban planning and eco-development, the Tianjin Eco-City is expected to be a commercially viable “city-in-a-garden. With convenient proximity to Beijing and well-developed transportation networks and infrastructure, the Tianjin area has been selected as the most ideal site for this development.

ALI joins some of the largest and most reputable eco-oriented developers from the region, including China’s Shimao Group, Japan’s Mitsui Fudosan Group, Tiawan’s Farglory Group and Malaysia’s Sunway Group. 

The Ayala-led property giant was chosen because of its strong track record reputation and commitment to sustainability.

Apart from the residential development, ALI and SSTEC are exploring the possibility of collaborating on additional joint ventures within the Eco-City.

ALI president and CEO Antonino T. Aquino said: “We are very pleased to have been invited to participate as a partner in this groundbreaking new development. The Tianjin Eco-City is a public private partnership that will show to the world what can be achieved when best developers from the region collaborate with two very progressive and forward-thinking governments.

 The development approach addresses many of the environmental and sustainability challenges that rapidly developing economies face today and we believe that this have a significant impact on how the cities of the future will be conceived, built and run. It is also very important for ALI’s future because we will be able to take the learnings of the Eco-City project and apply these to our major growth center areas thus reinforcing our nation as a builder of communities which are truly sustainable in every sense of the word.”