Keppel’s eco homes in Tianjin Eco-City draw strong buyer interest

1 November 2010, Singapore/Tianjin – Just over the weekend, Keppel has sold more than 90% of the 220 units released for during the soft launch of its Seasons Park residential development in the Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-City (Tianjin Eco-City).

Seasons Park, comprising a total of 1,672 residences, is the first collection of eco-homes to be launched in the Keppel development where Keppel Corporation and Keppel Land have interests of 45% and 55% respectively. Keppel Land is also the project manager for the Keppel development.

Mr Ho Cheok Kong, President, Keppel Land China, said, “We have been receiving very strong interest since the groundbreaking for Seasons Park. The positive response during our soft launch reflects the confidence of Chinese homebuyers in the Keppel quality hallmark and international experience.

“To meet demand, we look forward to launch more homes soon and are heartened by genuine interest in the new and distinct eco-lifestyle presented in the Eco-City and our Keppel homes.”

The average price achieved was about RMB11,000 psm for the units sold during the soft launch. Majority of the buyers are from Tianjin and surrounding regions.

Besides leading the Singapore Consortium in the Tianjin Eco-City, Keppel will develop its own 36.6-ha site located within the Start-up Area. The entire Keppel ecodevelopment, which will be launched in phases, is expected to yield about 5,000 homes in total as well as commercial developments including office and retail with a total gross floor area of about 680,000 sm.

Seasons Park is strategically located along the Eco-Valley, the ecological green spine linking major transit nodes, residential developments and commercial centres within the

Eco-City. The development is also in close proximity to the Eco-Business Park and the commercial sub-centre.

Amongst Seasons Park’s popular features with the homebuyers is the well-appointed clubhouse with facilities such as an in-door temperate swimming pool, sauna, gymnasium, snooker room and a café cum reading lounge.

The Keppel Group will leverage core competencies and expertise for its ecodevelopment as well as its participation in and contribution to the Tianjin Eco-City which will be its showcase for sustainable developments in China.

It will galvanise the expertise and talents of international consultants and agencies to contribute towards the development of a thriving city in an ecologically sustainable urban living environment. In line with Keppel’s commitment to the vision for the Tianjin

Eco-City, its homes and commercial properties will be developed to achieve at least the BCA's Green Mark Gold standard or its equivalent under the Tianjin Eco-City’s Green Building Evaluation Standard (GBES). The GBES evaluates a building in six areas, namely: Land Savings & Outdoor Environment, Energy Efficiency, Materials Savings, Water Savings, Indoor Environment Quality, and Operation & Maintenance.