Baotou agreed a PPP cooperation framework worth 10 billion yuan ($1.5 billion) with Inner Mongolia M-grass Ecology and Environment (Group) Co Ltd on Oct 13. The agreement aims to reduce the environmental impact of buildings and improve the amount of green space available in the city, according to an Oct 17 Xinhua report.

The agreement covers areas including ecological restoration, ecological big data and the germplasm resources of indigenous plants.

A total of 10 billion yuan will be put into a specially launched fund, backed by the people’s government of Baotou, for a PPP project.

Du Xuejun, mayor of Baotou, attended the signing ceremony and extended his warm welcome to the delegation led by Wang Zhaoming, president of M-grass. Du said that the agreement will contribute to developing Baotou into a green city.

Du Xuejun (L), mayor of Baotou, signs a cooperation framework agreement with Wang Zhaozhong (R), president of Inner Mongolia M-grass Ecology and Environment (Group) Co Ltd, to develop Baotou into an eco-city, Oct 13, 2016. [Photo/Xinhua]

A PPP (public–private partnership) is a government service or private business venture that is funded and operated through a partnership of government and one or more private sector companies.

M-grass is a listed company based in Hohhot, capital of North China’s Inner Mongolia autonomous region. The company is a leader in environmental restoration, planting technology and modern prataculture, with expertise in research and database analysis.

The company has recently conducted an in-depth investigation into the local environment of Baotou, and with the information and data it has collected, the landscape restoration work conducted in Baotou Deer Park, Baotou Yinyuan Garden and Bayan Obo Mining district has been completed with excellent results.

Baotou Deer Park following landscape restoration work, Baotou, Inner Mongolia autonomous region. [Photo/Xinhua]

Baotou Yinyuan Garden lies in a depression, but M-grass carries out restoration work taking the topography into consideration, and changes the direction of rainwater runoffs. So rainwater is stored and can be used for irrigation and other purposes. [Photo/Xinhua]