EPIL, China Jinmao Holdings sign deal for £150m Eden project in China

Eden Project International Limited (EPIL) has signed an agreement with China Jinmao Holdings to establish a new project – Eden Qingdao – in the coastal city of Qingdao.

The agreement, signed during the visit of the UK Prime Minister Theresa May’s trade delegation to China, sets out the terms of the future development of the Eden project in Qingdao, including design, construction and operation.Themed around water, Eden Qingdao will feature the world’s largest indoor waterfall, which will be more than 50m high, nearly the same height as Niagara Falls.The £150m project is expected to create 80 jobs.

Construction is due to begin in 2018 and will open to public in 2020.EPIL was formed in July 2017 to drive the establishment of Eden projects around the world.The new projects will focus on global challenges such as soil, water, food and biodiversity and will collaborate with organisations, companies, communities, research and conservation groups.Currently, EPIL is working on four projects in China and others in Australia and New Zealand.

The company is working on the China, Australia and New Zealand projects with Grimshaw Architects, who designed the Rainforest and Mediterranean Biomes at the Eden project.The projects proposed in China include one in the historic city of Yan’an, which will explore the theme of land and soil and its importance for life on earth.

It will showcase ecological restoration as a tool for the future and restore a degraded site outside the city into a fertile valley.Eden will take up pre-planning and early feasibility consultancy work for a project in Jizhou (near the city of Tianjin) in a former limestone mine to regenerate the landscape and surrounding area.EPIL is also working on a project at Sheng Lu Vineyard in Beijing to create a place to reconnect with nature.