There has been an explosion of economic activity in Shandong's Yellow River Delta since the State Council approved a plan to develop an eco-friendly economic zone there in November 2009.

"Driven by the national strategy, the zone has seen rapid growth and significantly promotes the regional economy through an innovative sustainable development pattern," said Jiang Daming, governor of Shandong.

Jiang said the Yellow River Delta Eco-Efficient Economic Zone reported a total output value of 652.3 billion yuan ($104.6 billion) last year, an increase of 12.3 percent year-on-year.

In the first half of this year, its GDP grew by 11 percent to 360 billion yuan, and tax and fee revenues rose 19.7 percent to 24.2 billion yuan despite the ongoing global economic downturn.

Located at the estuary where the Yellow River flows into the Bohai Sea, the zone covers a combined area of 26,500 square kilometers, one-sixth of the province's land. It stretches across the cities of Dongying and Binzhou and parts of Weifang, Dezhou, Zibo and Yantai.

Undeveloped land is plentiful in the delta, including 528,000 hectares of land yet to be tapped and a 1-million-hectare expanse of shallow sea that could become new land as the Yellow River continues to deposit massive amounts of silt.

"The Yellow River Delta is the last river delta in China with huge development potential. Shandong is set to exploit 133,333 hectares of its untapped land to develop environmentally friendly industries in the next few years," Jiang said.

The initiative to develop the zone has drawn wide attention from inside China and abroad. The region has attracted investment in a wide range of local industries, including modern agriculture, petroleum equipment manufacturing, textile production and eco-friendly tourism.

A fund management company for eco-friendly Yellow River Delta industries has been established in the provincial capital of Jinan. The company is expected to raise 20 billion yuan worth of capital within a few years.

Song Junji, deputy director of the Shandong Development and Reform Commission, said more than 380 key projects have been approved in the zone last year, each at a cost of more than 100 million yuan. They focus on new energy, advanced technology, eco-agriculture, and oil equipment manufacturing.

"The Yellow River Delta is one of the most abundant areas for wind, solar and geothermal resources. This has seen new energy become one of the fastest-growing industries in the region," Song said.

Currently, more than 20 large energy companies from China and abroad, including GD Power, Datang International and Huaneng Power International, have invested significantly in the area.

By the year's end, the zone hopes to foster 18 local corporations with an annual production value of more than 10 billion yuan each and 230 companies in emerging industries with an annual production value of 1 billion yuan each.

Also listed as a priority are wetland restoration and environmental protection, which Song described as the keys to sustainable development.

A total of 2.2 billion yuan has been allocated to increase the zone's wetland area by 66,667 hectares over the past few years.

The wetland now has more than 1,550 types of fauna and provides a natural habitat for almost 300 bird species.

Through these efforts, the zone's GDP is expected to reach 930 billion yuan by 2015.

At the same time, substantial improvements will be made in terms of energy conservation, emissions reduction and environmental protection, leading to the formation of a competitive circular economic system, Song said.

Contact the writers at juchuanjiang@chinadaily.com.cn and wangqian2@chinadaily.com.cn