Taihu New City, Wuxi, China - Signing Ceremony in Dublin.
Arup's Planning Team was recently commissioned by the Wuxi Taihu New City Construction Headquarter Office to provide planning and sustainability/ ecological consultancy services for the Taihu New City Plan within Wuxi city in Jiangsu Province, China.
Wuxi city is one of the richest cities in the Yangtze River Delta Region. The project is located in the southern part of Wuxi City along the northern edge of Lake Taihu. It is one of the key strategic areas for Wuxi city's growth and development as well as being a critical area for ecological conservation and improvements within the broader Lake Taihu Region.
On the 22nd October, Arup welcomed the Wuxi City's Party Secretary, Yang Wei-Ze and his delegation including our client to Dublin, Ireland. The visit was done in-conjunction with the Wuxi City Government's official trading visit to Dublin. Party Secretary Yang and the delegation was welcomed by Terry Hill (Chair, Group Trustee Board), Jerry Mehigan (Chair, Irish Practice), Michael Kwok, Stanley Yip and Atlas Chan (Shanghai) at Arup's office in Dublin.
As Arup's business leader in Ireland, Jerry Mehigan gave an impressive presentation on Arup's projects and developments in Ireland. Stanley Yip also gave a presentation to highlight our studies on the eco-city developments, as well as our proposed recommendations on sustainability/ ecological strategies for the Taihu New City Plan which were well received by the client and Party Secretary Yang. During the trip, Jerry Mehigan was also invited to attend the signing ceremony held by the Wuxi City Government and acted as a witness for the contract signing between our client and Arup. Terry Hill also hosted a dinner on behalf of our firm at the Guinness Storehouse, a famous tourist attraction in Dublin.
The Consultancy Services will focus on the review and ecological evaluation of the existing Taihu New City Comprehensive Masterplan, as well as recommending ecological strategies and sustainability indicators at the macro level. In addition, Arup will also evaluate the Control Plan for the New City Central Area (55 sq.km), advising on Control Plan amendments, sustainability indicators recommendations and ecological planning guidelines. A key focus will be working with key stakeholders on recognizing the added value due to good sustainable and ecological design for the New City and benchmarked against local and international best practices.
Arup's role is not only to consider how existing plans can be amended and integrated with our recommended sustainability/ ecological strategies, but more importantly, also advise on the most effective implementation method for integrating the recommended key performance indicators.
