Located in the heart of the Yellow River Delta, the city of Dongying, has reached a historical turning point in its development, said Jiang Jie, Party secretary of the city.

The national program to build an ecological and efficient economic zone in the Yellow River Delta region has already greatly benefited the city economically and environmentally, the local official said.

Last year, the city reported a gross output value of 267.6 billion yuan ($42.9 billion), up by 13 percent year-on-year. It also had 157.4 billion yuan in fixed-asset investment, a growth of 23.5 percent, and 13.5 billion yuan in tax and fee revenues, up 29.3 percent.

Currently, four modern industrial bases have been established in the city - a portside industrial zone, a high-end manufacturing area, an eco-agricultural area and an eco-tourism area.

The 232-square-kilometer Dongying port industrial zone focuses on such sectors as petroleum exploration, petrochemicals production, equipment manufacturing, and modern logistics.

Chen Huasheng, deputy head of the zone, said more than 60 projects involving combined investments of 80 billion yuan are now under construction. They include a liquid chemicals dock and a modern logistics park backed by the China National Offshore Oil Corp.

"To ensure an eco-friendly development pattern, we have strict screening procedures for petrochemical projects in the zone. All of them are required to use the latest technology to deal with pollution," said Chen.

In addition, the 210-square-kilometer high-end manufacturing area has been built into a hub for a cluster of high-tech and emerging industries, such as electronic information, alternative energy, advanced materials, wind power and oil equipment manufacturing.

So far, around 100 large enterprises have settled in the area and are now busy producing a range of products, including automobiles and auto parts, wind turbines and petroleum equipment.

The zone has grown into China's largest manufacturing base for oil equipment, with the output value accounting for one-third of the nation's total. One enterprise in this field, local oilfield equipment company Shengli Highland, has teamed with Britain's Weir Group to build a manufacturing facility for high-pressure pumps.

With 413 kilometers of coastline, 120,000 hectares of mudflats and 40,000 hectares of pastures, Dongying is also committed to developing an eco-agricultural area for fish farms and animal husbandry.

It has fostered 530 agricultural businesses and is home to 123,333 hectares of environmentally friendly farms, ranking first in the nation.

A modern fishing base that integrates processing, research, business transactions and eco-tourism is now under construction. With a total area of 20,000 hectares, it is expected to be the largest aquatic farm in Shandong province.

wangqian2@chinadaily.com.cn