New industries planned

Besides the upgrading of traditionally strong industries, Shantou is attracting new investments and projects to three coastal sectors. They are the offshore wind power industry, harbor-based industry and green petrochemical industry.

The new development will highlight Shantou's leading role in building a modern coastal economic belt in the eastern part of Guangdong.

According to a plan for the province's offshore wind power development between 2017-30, it plans to install wind power generators of 1.85 million kilowatts in shallow-water areas while the power generation in deep-water areas is to reach 33.5 million kilowatts.

China's three leading power corporations－Three Gorges, Datang and Huaneng－have been working on the construction of wind-power projects in phases. The projects will transform the power supply in the coastal regions of Southeast China, which mainly depends on coal power, Wu said.

Shanghai Electric Group has set up a smart production base in Haojiang district of Shantou to produce wind-power generators. With a total investment of about 500 million yuan, the project is expected to produce an annual output value of 6 billion yuan, Wu noted. More importantly, it can attract companies in the industrial chain to invest in Shantou, he added.

Two engineers working for an offshore wind power project in Shantou. CHINA DAILY

 Policies rolling out

To fulfill this plan, the city government has issued policies to designate land for industrial use in all districts and counties to solve land shortages. The city highlights whole-section land development and has reclaimed seven sections of land respectively in its Haojiang, Chenghai, Chaoyang and Chaonan districts for industrial use. Currently, land lots totaling an area of more than 70 square kilometers have been made ready to attract new investment projects, Wu said.

The city aims to develop at least 10 high-level development zones by 2035 to help the influx of industrial companies.

The city government arranged 301 major projects, including infrastructure, industrial projects and public facilities, at the beginning of this year with an aggregate investment of 37.6 billion yuan. An additional batch of 77 projects were added to the package in the second half of this year, pushing the total investment to 42.2 billion yuan.

These projects will improve road, rail and harbor connectivity in and out of the city, lay the foundation for economic and social development and enhance people's living standards.

Meanwhile, it will forge closer cooperative ties with Shenzhen and other cities in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, to take advantage of their innovations, industries, technologies, funds and talent and make best out of Shantou's advantageous industries and the city's position as a major ancestral origin of overseas Chinese, according to the local government.

In August, a Shenzhen-based telecommunication giant opened an industrial internet innovation center to build a public service platform for Shantou's intelligent manufacturing.

The industrial park where the center is located is the first in East Guangdong to focus on artificial intelligence. It aims to consolidate the capital, human resources and industrial resources in and out of China with a root in Shantou and surrounding areas.