"Therefore, Zhanjiang has a great potential to develop ocean energy, natural resources, logistics, fishery and port transportation industries," the professor said.

"The city government should fully use its unique advantages to develop ocean industry in the coming years," Gu added.

The city projects its annual oceanic economic output will hit 180 billion yuan ($28.82 billion) by 2015.

The sectors that play a strong role in oceanic industries include portside iron and steel, petrochemicals and papermaking, oceanic equipment manufacturing, tourism, offshore oil and gas exploration, and port-related logistics.

Construction is underway on massive petrochemical and iron and steel projects on 286-square-kilometer Donghai Island.

Built with joint investment from China Petroleum and Chemical Corp and Kuwait Petroleum Corp, the petrochemical complex is scheduled to be operational in 2015.

With an initial investment of 59 billion yuan, it is designed to process 15 million tons of crude oil and 1 million tons of ethylene annually.

Construction began in late May on the 69.6-billionyuan Baosteel Zhanjiang Iron and Steel Co project, which is designed to turn out 9.2 million tons of iron and 10 million tons of steel annually.

Resort

Authorities also aim to develop the city into a seaside resort center in South China and an international tourism peninsula.

The goal is to receive 43 million visitors a year by the end of 2015, with annual revenue from the sector hitting 25 billion yuan, accounting for more than 6.5 percent of the city's GDP.

With 30 islands in its jurisdiction, the city hosted 18.1 million visitors last year, up 28.1 percent over 2010.

Meanwhile Zhanjiang is the gateway for expanding China's economy southward and for strengthening trade relations with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

Guangdong provincial government has since tasked Zhanjiang with leading the push for further modernization in western Guangdong.

Zhanjiang's own blueprint calls for marine research and development as well as the cultivation of oceanic brands by 2015.

Located on the Leizhou Peninsula, the port city of Zhanjiang has a coastline of 2,403 kilometers, accounting for about 6.7 percent of the country's total and 36.4 percent of the province's total.

And Zhanjiang, which administers a sea area of more than 20,000 sq km, has more than 140 islands.

The city's Donghai Island is the fifth largest in the country, while the Nansan Island is the seventh largest.

The city has tidal land covering about 100,000 hectares, accounting for 5 percent of the country's total.