SINGAPORE -- Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-city Administrative Committee and Singapore's Ministry of National Development inked a Memorandum of Understanding for a research and development collaboration program for Tianjin Eco-city on Monday.

According to the ministry's press release, the two sides will each set aside up to 2 million Singapore dollars ($1.61 million) a year for 3 years to fund research projects relating to green building technologies which are jointly undertaken by Singapore and Chinese researchers in Tianjin Eco-city.

The two sides will respectively fund the approved research expenses of the two countries' researchers.

Each research project will have a funding cap of 1 million Singapore dollars and should complete within two years.

The ministry also said the research proposals will be assessed "based on factors such as their relevance to the Tianjin Eco-city's developmental needs, their technological and innovation merits, their impact and cost-effectiveness, and the capabilities of the research team."