Hunan province is likely to see double-digit growth again this year, building on the momentum of 2013, said local officials.

Last year, its GDP grew 10.1 percent to 2.45 trillion yuan ($398.6 billion), according to official statistics.

Local officials say rapid growth was achieved through a focus on restructuring the economy with an eye toward quality development.

An emphasis on the economy's total scale, operational quality and per capita value will continue to advance reform and optimize the industrial structure while solidifying the province's lead in central China, analysts said.

Due in part to the development strategy, more investment has flowed into infrastructure construction, a crucial force driving the growth of the local economy.

Last year, 1,125 new expressways were built in the province and a subway began a trial operation in the provincial capital Changsha.

In particular, local authorities poured heavy investment in renovating more than 8,000-kilometer roads in rural areas.

As the transportation network expands, industries are flourishing.

A total of 11 companies were among the top 500 Chinese private businesses in 2013, according to the latest ranking released by the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce.

Lens Technology is among the newest names. With more than 60,000 staff and several bases across the province, the producer of glass panels, which can be used in making displays, has increased its assets to tens of billions of yuan and become a major provider of global branded electronics makers.

In addition to local businesses, inflows of investment from outside the province are also a highlight of recent growth.

For instance, Shanghai Volkswagen decided to invest in building an auto production plant at the Changsha economic and development zone last year.

With its initial funding surpassing 12 billion yuan, the factory will be the largest foreign investment project in the province's history, and it is projected to generate 150 billion yuan in annual revenue after it becomes operational next year. Construction on the plant's main facilities is scheduled to be completed within the year, according to the company.

"The Shanghai VW project in Changsha will play a leading role in accelerating the development of Hunan's auto industry and spurring the improvement of the entire industry of the province," Xu Shousheng, Party chief of Hunan, said at the signing ceremony in May, 2013.

Sound growth potential has made Hunan a popular destination for capital from around the globe, local officials say. Government data shows that 131 Fortune 500 companies have established facilities in Hunan, and a total of $8.7 billion foreign capital flowed into the province last year, the highest in the provinces in the central region.

At the same time, the province has much room to improve in foreign trade, which accounted for 0.52 percent of the country's total, or 4 percent of Jiangsu province's import and export volumes, said Zhong Hande, a member of Hunan People's Political Consultative Conference.

Zhong quoted Chinese President Xi Jinping during his inspection in Hunan last year, saying that Hunan is located between eastern coastal provinces and western regions, and it also links the opening-up rim of the Yangtze River to the coastal economic belt.

The strategic location helps Hunan's efforts to build a free trade zone in central China and an export-oriented economy, Zhong said.

To improve the economy's quality, the provincial government initiated nearly 230 environmental programs last year and has so far shuttered 1,018 companies for excessive pollution, including 893 polluters near the Xiangjiang River.

As Hunan has a higher proportion of heavy industry and chemical plants as well as a larger number of energy-intensive enterprises than the country's average, creating obstacles for developing a green economy, local officials say. This state of affairs has pushed the province to be more active about exploring new ways to efficiently use resources.

It is so far the only province in the country to implement pricing reforms for water, power and gas provision in residential communities, said Shao Guichu, deputy director of the province's pricing bureau.

It also unveiled the government procurement system of "resource-saving and eco-friendly products" last year, the first of its kind across the country.

Now all industrial companies along the Xiangjiang River, as well as iron and steel makers and fired power plants across the province, have access to the trade in emission rights.

All the reforms have proven effective. The province realized its goals of energy conservation and emission reduction designated by the central government last year.

As well, technological innovation adds clout to the healthy growth of the local economy.

The province has made new world records in such sectors as supercomputing and hybrid rice.

According to the evaluation on industrial operation quality by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology last year, Hunan ranked top of the central provinces and the ninth nationwide last year.

The provincial government earmarked more than 24 billion yuan to improve life quality of local people last year.

Of the fund, some 3.7 million yuan went to the drinking water safety project in rural areas.

The investment pushed the total spending on quality-of-life projects by government agencies at various levels within the province to more than 300 billion yuan in 2013, some 65 percent of the governments' total expenditures.

The increase in a series of per capita indices, including pension and medical insurance, also reflects improvement in the local quality of life.

Per capita income of urban residents exceeded 23,400 yuan and that of rural residents reached 8,371 yuan last year.

"Hunan's per capita GDP still lags far behind the country's average, so we need to go all-out to increase it," Party chief of the province Xu said.

Hunan Governor Du Jiahao has called for expanding "channels to increase income of locals", in a bid to enable more locals to enjoy the "fruits of economic development".

NUMBERS IN 2013

10.1 percent is the amount of GDP growth relative to the year prior

8,000 kilometers of roads were built in rural areas

11 local companies made the list of top 500 Chinese private businesses

$8.7 billion in foreign capital was drawn to Hunan

Contracts are finalized for the construction of a production facility with investment from Shanghai VW. The project constitutes the largest industrial investment in the province's history.

Farmers harvest crops in Hunan's countryside. The province created world records in hybrid rice yields last year.