One of China's top construction corporations has pledged to support a development of £800 million ($1.3 billion) in Manchester, the first signal that Beijing is committed to considerably boost its expenditure on infrastructure in the UK. jobs
The Manchester Airport City is a partnership between the Greater Manchester Pension Fund (GMPF), the Beijing Construction Engineering Group (BCEG) and Carillion PLC, which has been known as UK's biggest redevelopment project since the Olympic Games. The entire area of business offices, hotels, state-of-the-art engineering, logistics and storage is five million square feet.
The deal was unveiled during Chancellor George Osborne's trade visit to China.
Mr. Osborne told reporters, "I am adamant that Great Britain does not repeat past mistakes that have confined investment and growth in City of London alone, but instead makes sure that Chinese investment is flowing across the world."
Last year, China and the UK pledged to boost bilateral trade from $8 to $100 billion by 2015. The relationship worsened, especially when Prime Minister David Cameron met the Dalai Lama that triggered demonstrations in Beijing.
"We regard our involvement in Airport City as an extension of the memorandum of understanding between China and the United Kingdom, where we have been seeking for a period of time to further explore the common infrastructure opportunities," said Xing Yan, Managing Director of BCEG International Co. Ltd.
The organization said that the airport development management "sees aggressively" to attract direct flights to China.
Mr Osborne also revealed measures during his visit to the UK to simplify the visa procedure for Chinese tourists.
Southeast Asia's World's Largest Wine Vault.
A six-story, 160,4 million dollars wine vault is being built in Singapore by a Singapore-based firm, the largest in Southeast Asia.
The 750,000 square foot "super elegant" facility will store more than 10 million bottles, according to a Singapore Wine Vaults news release. Initially scheduled for the second quarter of 2014, the vault is intended to provide "optimal storage conditions" for wines of investment grade.
According to the advertising material of the facility, "despite their enthusiasm for great wine, local collectors are facing a shortage of appropriate storage and expensive costs, leading many to send their wine for proper cellars in London." " With Singapore's location as a regional center, Singapore Wine Vault customers may save money from storage expenses and easily access their wine collection."
The facility will include a primary storage space and a separate Drôme area for private cellars that may be adapted to the customer's needs. Thanks to a tracking system, customers could track goods and buy from faraway places.
"The vault "employ security methods, protocols, and processes commonly associated with financial organizations" to prevent "natural light" infiltration, in addition to temperature controls and limiting what may be introduced," According to the firm, "select senior wine butlers" would be granted entrance to the main chambers.
The company stated that Drôme area access will include "dual-card verification of a client and an employee of Singapore Wine Vault by means of a private pin number or thumbprint recognition," as well as "dual-card verification by means of a private pin or thumbprint recognition both of a client and of Singapore Wine Vault employee."
The "all inclusive" facility also has a private dining area and a bar for degustations and activity, with "the sophisticated elegance of a gentleman's club."
Singapore Wine Vault was founded as a subsidiary of the CWT Logistics Group, the largest logistics company in the area, last year.