German high-tech comes to eco-park

The Sino-German Eco-park in East China's Qingdao city is picking up steam with a string of investment deals signed recently.

Nine newly signed projects and 12 projects ready to start operations were marked at an agreements signing ceremony on June 15, following German Chancellor Angela Merkel's recent visit to China.

With combined investment of 12 billion yuan ($1.8 billion), those projects cover high-end manufacturing and service sectors.

Highlights of those projects include an assembly line for the Airbus Helicopter H135, Frey Architekten, a construction firm known for its use of green architecture, a wireless power charging project by Bombardier and a new office for the German Energy Center and College.

Signed in October 2015, the Airbus Helicopter project will build a complete manufacturing ecosystem in China, including a final assembly line, a sales team for China-assembled H135s, and a support staff team for maintenance and training services.

In the past three years, 15 billion yuan has been invested in the Sino-German Eco-park with an annual growth of 110 percent. It is estimated that industrial revenue generated from the park will reach 200 million yuan.

Eco-friendly has been the leading theme of the park's development strategy. The park is divided into nine sections with reserved natural areas that will not be built on, while 58 percent of the original forest has been preserved.

During construction, the park has implemented 15 eco-friendly and resource-saving technologies.

The park has built 85,000 square meters of sidewalks that can absorb water into the ground as well as 30,000 sq m of sunken green space to create a "sponge city" that enables efficient rainwater management and retention.

Another centerpiece is the passive house experience center. Passive house refers to a rigorous, voluntary standard for energy efficiency in a building, in order to reduce its ecological footprint. It results in ultra-low-energy buildings that require little energy for heating or cooling. The center, completed last month, was planned to be the first demonstration passive house project in Asia to obtain a medium-level certification from the German Passive House Institute (PHI).

(China Daily 07/05/2016 page6)