Construction projects in Shanghai to resume work

The first group of construction projects in Shanghai, including those for data centers and a semiconductor manufacturing plant, have been given the green light to resume work, as the city's authorities introduce measures to help businesses resume operations.

The move is part of a broader push by China to stabilize supply and industry chains amid the resurgence of COVID-19, experts said, adding that challenges such as logistics difficulties may linger and it will take time for companies to see full recovery.

The Shanghai Municipal Commission of Housing and Urban-Rural Development unveiled on Tuesday night the first 24 construction projects eligible for work resumption.

The list includes tech companies' construction projects, such as data centers for Alibaba and Tencent and a wafer production line of semiconductor manufacturer Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp.

In addition, Shanghai Pudong International Airport's third-phase expansion project and WuXi Biologics' biopharmaceutical research and development center are on the list.

Enterprises in Shanghai are also on a steady track to resume operations as more efforts are being made to help businesses cope with COVID-19-related challenges.

In the Lin-gang Special Area of the China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone, 251 enterprises had resumed operations as of Tuesday, with about 40,000 employees working at plants under closed-loop management, said Wu Xiaohua, an official of the Lin-gang Special Area, at a news conference on Wednesday.

The progress came as the central and local governments in China are beefing up policy measures to get through bottlenecks in industrial and supply chains, as they work to keep the nation's sprawling industrial economy running stably.

Xin Guobin, vice-minister of industry and information technology, said in an interview with Xinhua News Agency that the ministry, the nation's top industry regulator, has enlisted 1,624 key enterprises in four groups to help them resume work. Most of the enterprises are in four areas - medical supplies for epidemic prevention, necessities for people's livelihood, important agricultural materials, and strategic emerging sectors such as automobiles and semiconductors, Xin said.

He Dengcai, vice-president of the Beijing-based China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing, said logistics in regions hit hard by COVID-19 are improving, but it will take time to see a full recovery, and intensified efforts are needed to help more companies resume work.