Slew of projects create boom in entrepreneurship

Officials and business representatives in Yunchen witness the groundbreaking of 160 projects.LEI ZHEXIA/FOR CHINA DAILY

Officials and business representatives in Yunchen witness the groundbreaking of 160 projects.

Shanxi has seen an increasing number of industrial projects begin construction throughout the province, creating a boom in entrepreneurship and attracting big investment.

On Jan 1, Shanxi's development zones and industrial parks collectively announced the launch of 268 projects, involving a combined investment of 128.86 billion yuan ($19.8 billion).

The zones also announced agreements signing on 413 projects with total investment of 280 billion and operation of 245 projects with 55.67 billion yuan in total funding.

And the busy construction continues with more new projects on the way in the coming two months.

On Mar 3, officials and business representatives in Yuncheng, a city in the south of Shanxi, gathered in a local industrial park to witness the groundbreaking of 160 projects with investment totaling 17.19 billion yuan.

Chu Xianghao, mayor of Yuncheng, said the launch of the 160 projects marked a strong start for the city's investment promotion in 2021, the first year of the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25).

The largest project of all is the Sanke Agricultural Business Town. With a total investment 3 billion yuan, the project will cover such operations as agricultural products trading, cold-chain storage, logistics and e-commerce. Its first phase is scheduled to be completed by the end of this year.

"The project will be of great significance for Yuncheng's economic development and rural revitalization," Chu said.

He estimated that the total transactions of agricultural products will surpass 5 million metric tons and generate an annual transaction value of 30 billion yuan.

"This will provide better opportunities for farmers to sell their produce and increase revenue," the mayor said. He added that the facility can also create more than 20,000 jobs when it is fully operational.

Chu said the newly launched projects, covering such fields as emerging industries, upgrading of traditional industries, infrastructure and projects relating to people's livelihoods, will "give a strong boost to socioeconomic development in Yuncheng".

In Yangquan, a city in the east of Shanxi, local officials and business leaders inaugurated a grand groundbreaking ceremony for 55 new projects in the Weipo Industrial Park on Feb 26.

According to Lei Jiankun, mayor of Yangquan, this year's budget for the 55 projects will reach 8.52 billion yuan.

One of the largest of the projects is an advanced photovoltaic component manufacturing facility funded by local company Huayang New Materials. The project will involve a total investment of 1.07 billion yuan.

According to Huayang executives, the photovoltaic component project is scheduled to be operational in October this year.

Covering nearly 20 hectares, the project is expected to be the largest N-type photovoltaic module manufacturer in the world. Its annual revenue is estimated to be 6.7 billion yuan.

Wang Pei contributed to this story.

By YUAN SHENGGAO