Zhanjiang plans Haidong as new business heart for city

A ferry used to be the only transportation means between the prosperous western bank of Zhanjiang Bay and the underdeveloped eastern bank, where Haidong New District is located, until 2006 when the Zhanjiang Bay Bridge was opened to traffic.

Another three bridges and a sea-crossing tunnel will be built to further increase the efficient flow of people and goods, according to the plan.

The district will also become an important traffic hub of Zhanjiang to the outside after highways are built to link Haidong to the city's new airport and to the high-speed railway connecting the city and the Pearl River Delta.

Promising land

These facilities will make Haidong a promising choice for investment, with bustling construction sites all over the district, according to local officials.

"However, developing a new district must not be simply building high-rises and developing real estate," Liang said.

"We must introduce industries that are good for the district's sustainable development and go after high-quality investments, including those from large State-owned enterprises and private businesses, to bring more dynamics to the market."

Haidong New District has sealed deals of 96 projects with total investment of more than 52 billion yuan ($8.4 billion), including the Zhanjiang branch of the Bohai Commodity Exchange and a comprehensive hospital that will be larger in area and number of beds than any other in Guangdong, Hainan province or the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, according to Liang.

As the location for the upcoming provincial sports games of Guangdong in August, Haidong New District is ready to host tens of thousands of visitors and amaze them with three shell-shaped stadiums by Zhanjiang Bay, Liang said.

He said the new district has more surprises on its blueprints for tourists and residents, including a manmade beach, a yacht club, a greenery corridor along the bay and a wetland park.

Underground there will also be a pipeline tunnel integrating public utilities such as water, electricity and telecommunications, which Liang said is an advanced city-planning concept globally for tidier landscaping and more efficient management of public utilities.

"Haidong New District will become an international business center of Zhanjiang and the showcase of the city's new image. I believe it will become a must-go place for visitors to Zhanjiang just as Pudong New Area is for visitors to Shanghai," Liang said.