Zone stepping up efforts to support projects

A new 100-hectare industrial park will be completed in 2025

The Weifang Hi-Tech Industrial Development Zone in Weifang city, East China's Shandong province, is taking a series of measures to attract and upgrade its business environment aimed at supporting long-term development of the region.

Over the past few years, the zone has been committed to replacing old economic development drivers with new ones. One of the efforts is supporting Weichai Power, one of the leading heavy truck engines and component developers and suppliers in China, to build a new energy power-focused industrial park in the zone.

Construction of the industrial park, which covers nearly 100 hectares, started in 2018 and will be completed in 2025. The park is located on an old thermal power plant site, which needed to be relocated before Weichai could settle in. Effectively and efficiently supporting relocation of the old factory to ensure the new project's speedy progress, was a key issue considered by the local government at the initial stage, according to the zone's officials.

"We formed a service team specifically for Weichai to support the industrial park's construction. The relocation plans were completed as it was scheduled," said Liu Wenzeng, deputy director of the zone's economic and development bureau.

The service team mentioned by Liu is an example of recent service upgrades that have supported key business projects.

In February, the new service model got its official name, zhuan ban, which translates to "special service teams". Under this model, supporting teams formed by government officials have been assigned responsibilities to oversee key projects in the zone and ensure any difficulty in the construction process is solved in an efficient manner.

According to local officials, meetings are organized weekly for key projects so companies can raise problems with officials, with all related government departments required to provide feedback by a given deadline.

Apart from Weichai, acoustics solutions and smart hardware provider Goertek is also a beneficiary of the new model.

The zone's efforts signal clearly to companies its resolve to strengthen economic growth. Companies have responded by adding new investment projects to the area.

Weichai celebrated the groundbreaking of the Weichai International Engine Component Industrial Park in the zone on July 13.

Twenty globally leading automotive parts makers, including Knorr-Bremse from Germany and Tyco from the United States, have signed agreements to open production sites in the industrial park.

Xu Zizhi, director of the new projects at Weichai, said Weichai can raise any project-relevant problems with the zone in the park's construction progress. The zone will spare no efforts in supporting Weichai's work.

High-tech hub

In recent years, a large number of high-tech industrial park projects were initiated by the zone to attract leading companies.

The internet of things industrial park, launched on April 3 in the zone, focuses on attracting the next-generation information technology businesses. The zone has established an industrial investment fund of 5 billion yuan ($705.81 million) to support businesses' focus on IoT, big data, artificial intelligence and blockchain.

Companies such as Shenzhen-listed Sunsea AIoT Technology have launched a regional operation center in the park.

Construction of a geographical information-centered industrial park is also underway. The park, with 1.5 billion yuan in investment, will be opened in August 2020. Businesses specializing in satellite remote sensing, survey and mapping are welcome in the park.

An advanced equipment production project partially invested in by Tsinghua Holdings Capital broke ground on June 30. The site is scheduled to start production later this year, according to the investment company.

It took only 18 days for investors to announce the project's groundbreaking after signing investment agreements with the zone's government.

"We did not rush to make decisions, though the time it took to make the final decision was short," said Wang Shaoxiong, from Tsinghua Holdings Capital.

Wang said the project's operators were well-informed about the development of the Weifang Hi-Tech Industrial Development Zone, which helped them to make a detailed evaluation about it according to their investment requirements.

"We (Tsinghua Holdings Capital) compared the zone with many other regions, and we believe it is the most desired destination," Wang said.

The zone is also paying attention to business, urban and legal environment enhancements to make the region a first-class national economic zone in China.

Urban upgrades

Measures have been taken to upgrade the living environment in the zone as economic growth remains stable.

Companies in the zone were tasked to promote environmental protection in response to requirements of the central government. Weifang Special Steel in the zone plans to invest 390 million yuan in two low-emission projects in the upcoming years to improve regional air quality.

Roads have been built and expanded to ensure smooth traffic flow in the region during peak hours. More greenery, landscaping and lighting projects are also in progress.

Drones have even been used to monitor unpermitted activities such as soil dumping and unlicensed construction.

As it had been doing in previous years, the zone continues to enhance living standards for its residents. Three new schools have been put into use and four schools were expanded this year, providing nearly 9,000 additional places for students.