The construction of a smart industry park started in Sino-Singapore Guangzhou Knowledge City (SSGKC) on Thursday. The knowledge city was elevated to a national-level project last month.

Involving a total investment of 1.4 billion yuan ($203.34 million) and scheduled to be completed in 2020, the China-Singapore International Smart Industry Park will focus on the development of technology related to the internet of things, big data and cloud ecology.

It is designed to empower companies developing applications in the smart home, transport, office, healthcare and city industries, according to the administration of Huangpu district, Guangzhou, where the project is located.

The park will accommodate innovation incubators, offices, commercial facilities and residential apartments, with green-building technologies to be used widely.

The park will also include a Siemens green city digitalization center and a Sino-Singapore research institute.

Covering an area of 21.2 square kilometers, SSGKC has attracted 1,382 companies with a total registered capital of 129.4 billion yuan.

The knowledge city is the only national-level pilot zone for intellectual property use and protection reform.