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New development zone to take shape near Beijing

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-01-29 11:04

China's port construction, steel and power giants will pour 192.9 billion yuan ($28 billion) for infrastructure construction in Caofeidian, an island-turned development zone in the Bohai Bay in north China, according to the city government of Tangshan, which administrates the zone.

Xinhua's source with the government said on Wednesday that 65 billion yuan of the investment will be used for 105 infrastructure projects this year.

The 50-sq km development zone in Hebei province is 220 km to the east of Beijing. It has been designated as a model of China's environment-friendly industrial base.

The projects under construction this year will equip the zone with 200 million tons of port handling capacity and an initial industrial production condition for key companies, such as the Beijing Capital Iron and Steel Group's steel plant, which moved from the capital city's urban area to Caofeidian in 2007.

The Caofeidian industrial zone was put on China's list of pilot areas for recyclable economy in October 2005. Chinese President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao both paid visits to the zone. They expect it to become a demonstration area for scientific development and recyclable development.

Caofeidian has been mapped to become the country's largest steel production base by 2010. An evaluation by the country's environmental watchdog shows the steel plant will ensure 99.5 percent of solid waste and 97.5 percent of waste water are recycled.

State-owned giants like PetroChina and Huadian Power Group have also made the zone their energy base.

Caofeidian, once a small sand spit in the Bohai Bay, has extended into a land of more than 50 square km through sea fillings since 2003. The frame of a modern city is beginning to take shape here as crowds of elite technicians and industrial workers swarm to the zone.