hebeispecial Hebei: Coastal zone reforms are fueling growth

By LIU XIANG meters and a coastal zone cover- 11 affiliated counties and their billion yuan in the first six months ing 1.1 million hectares, the area’s industrial zones, are priorities in of this year, a 13 percent increase Though just 52 kilometers of economy lags many other regions. boosting local economies. over the same time last year. the planned 449-kilometer-long In 2006, the provincial govern- On Sept 18, Chen Guoying, may- Actual utilized overseas invest- expressway set for completion this ment formulated the idea to further or of Tangshan, told the media that ment has now reached 660 million year, the Hebei Coastal Highway develop the coastal zone’s economy. accumulated investment in Caofei- this year, a 4 percent year-on-year finished on Sept 26 now connects During the 11th Five-year Plan dian Port has surpassed 300 billion increase. Huanghua Port with neighboring (2006-2010), a “coastal economy yuan. In year 2011, the coastal areas in ports including Caofeidian, Jing- circle” plan laid the foundation for Hebei established 1,578 projects tang, Qinhuangdao, Qingdao and later developments. 40 agreements each with a value over 100 million Lianyungang. In March 2011, when the Nation- More than 40 agreements were yuan. Of them, 414 are under con- The expressway will ultimately al People’s Congress was held in reached at a recent business fair in struction and 399 will soon break complete the transport grid con- Beijing, the proposal was officially Caofeidian that attracted more than ground. necting the province’s “economic adopted in the central government $2.7 billion in overseas and 2.83 bil- In the first seven months, com- belt” with other development zones. plan, becoming a part of the nation- lion yuan in domestic investments. bined investment in large projects “Hebei is in the midst of vital al strategy. The agreements are mainly for surpassed 96 billion yuan, some transformation of its economy,” equipment manufacturing, modern 78 percent of the full-year target said Zhang Qingwei, deputy chief Range of efforts logistics, new energy and electron- for 2011. The annual cargo throughput at Jingtang Port has exceeded 100 million of the provincial Party committee To bring the proposal to reality, ic information that is designed to Since the whole blueprint was tons for three consecutive years. and acting governor. the provincial government carried more efficiently develop shipping. adopted, the coastal areas in Hebei Focused on the development of out a range of efforts including Throughput at Qinhuangdao have built more than 120 industrial from the 11 coastal counties should buildings and public utilities have the area surrounding the Bohai Sea, building more ports and fostering Port has surpassed 200 million tons projects each with an investment quadruple by 2015 from the current already been developed. the blueprint for coastal areas in industries that will help reform for six successive years. value surpassing 1 billion yuan for annual 220 billion yuan to 880 bil- More preferential policies will Hebei has become a national strat- Hebei’s economic structure. The city of Qinhuangdao is also a total of 590 billion yuan. lion yuan. be also be issued to support coastal egy bringing unprecedented oppor- In 2011, the efforts became more making efforts to boost tourism, Thirty-five of the largest projects Local tax revenues are projected areas in Hebei. Half of the allot- tunities to the province, Zhang said. detailed — moving industries to which is already well known across require investment exceeding 5 bil- to soar from 27 billion yuan annu- ted land for development in Hebei Huanghua and Caofeidian, where the country. lion yuan. Work on 27 of them is ally to 110 billion yuan. province from 2011 to 2015 is in Quickening pace new facilities will be located across In Cangzhou, local authorities now underway. The plan calls for coastal areas Qinhuangdoa, Tangshan and Cang- In mid-September, Hebei’s new 210 square kilometers. The invest- built large-scale industrial parks to in Hebei to mainly concentrate on zhou. Party chief Zhang Qingli said dur- ment this year is expected to sur- attract more business. Objectives iron and steel production, equip- The financial authorities have ing a visit to the city of Cangzhou pass 80 billion yuan ($12.5 billion). According to a range of statis- Hebei’s 71 million residents ment manufacturing, electronic jointly issued a regulation to that coastal areas should further The government is also expand- tics recently released by the Hebei expect the projects will bring sub- information industry, modern enhance credit in coastal areas. break with conventional ideas ing and modernizing existing ports Development and Reform Com- stantial improvements to the local logistics, financial and high-tech Economists in Hebei predict that to quicken the pace of economic at Huanghua and Qinhuangdao. mission, the highlighted 11 coun- economy. services, and tourism. coastal areas will play a more sig- reform. The coastal areas at Qinhuang- ties and nine economic zones had According to the provincial gov- In preparation, a number of nificant role in growing the overall Despite its coastline of 487 kilo- dao, Tangshan and Cangzhou, with a gross domestic product of 140 ernment’s plan, the gross value facilities, warehouses, business business for the province.

Qinhuangdao, one of three coastal areas highlighted in ambitious development plans. PHOTOS PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY