'Eco-friendly zone' welcomes range of high-tech business

From wasteland to thriving industrial center, the area north of Jiaozhou Bay in Qingdao has undergone a transformation.

In recent years Qingdao National High-tech Industrial Development Zone has grown rapidly and is now aiming to become an eco-technological center.

The local authorities want to develop the zone into a center focused on high-tech products like optical measuring instruments, photoelectric environmental protection equipment, optoelectronics, IC and photovoltaic materials and ocean engineering equipment.

It is hoped that by 2015 a substantial base of research centers and companies including well-known brands will be established.

The zone will be split into areas, with one third left as open green space, one third for industry and the rest for residential communities. High profile designers have been invited to help create an eco-friendly and aesthetically pleasing space.

To preserve the area as one of environmental conservation, all new projects must undergo stringent screening procedures and are refused if they are deemed as potentially harmful to the ecological system.

Last year environmental projects amounting to a total investment of more than 700 million yuan were approved.

In all, more than 5 billion yuan have been invested in infrastructure facilities. Some 70 such projects are under construction.

In cooperation with the Chinese Academy of Sciences, a new industrial startup park will be established in 2015. It will be a base for around 20 high-tech companies.

Meanwhile, the authorities have also signed an agreement with seven universities and colleges in the city. They hope that this will facilitate cooperation between business and the education system so that research ideas may be developed and applied and business graduates will be able to move quickly into the business world by setting up their own companies in the zone.