Economy

Shandong's zone prepares for development

By Ju Chuanjiang and Du Juan (China Daily)
Updated: 2011-02-19 10:59

An employee of Rizhao port, Shandong province, uses a long-distance controller to load containers. Based on the existed three harbors of Qingdao, Rizhao and Yantai, Shandong will build a Northeast Asia international maritime center. [Photo / China Daily]

BEIJING - Shandong provincial government held investment talks in Beijing on Friday for 200 projects at Shandong Peninsula Economic Zone, which will accrue an anticipated total investment of 851.2 billion yuan ($129.5 billion).

Contracts for as many as 23 projects were signed during the talks, involving an investment of more than 254.9 billion yuan. Financial organizations and institutions including Bank of China and China Construction Bank agreed to provide loans for the projects.

The Shandong Peninsula is located in a key area in the Northeast Asia economic zone, and analysts said its high-speed development will strengthen its economic role and prove beneficial for South Korea and Japan, as well as China.

According to the Ministry of Commerce, 70 percent of South Korean investment in China is concentrated in Shandong province. More than 10,000 South Korean companies have invested in Qingdao, a city in the southeastern part of the peninsula.

Therefore, South Korea is attaching great importance to the development of the transport infrastructure in Shandong.

The South Korean government has started research for a proposed undersea tunnel, connecting South Korea and China.

If constructed, the tunnel will run between the cities of Weihai in Shandong and Inchon on South Korea's west coast. The tunnel will be 341 kilometers long and will require investment of about 700 billion yuan. No timetable has yet been set for construction.

Meanwhile, South Korea has also started research for a second undersea tunnel, this time connecting it with Japan.

The State Council named the Shandong peninsula as a pilot zone for the nation's marine economy in January 2010, and since then it has become a hot spot for investors from China and abroad.

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According to statistics from the commerce department of Shandong province, the Peninsula Economic Zone has generated foreign trade worth $148.07 billion, accounting for 78.4 percent of trade in the province during 2010.

Jiang Daming, the governor of the province, said: "The marine economy represents the future of Shandong's development. Shandong Peninsula will become one of the most attractive and competitive places for investors."

Based on the existed three harbors of Qingdao, Rizhao and Yantai, each with more than 100 million tons of throughput, Shandong will build a Northeast Asia international maritime center on the peninsula, with transportation systems for containers, ore, coal and oil.