Demonstration zone strives to build a new growth pole for Jiangsu's strong marine province strategy

Currently, the construction of the first wharf in the main port area of the new sea outlet in Tongzhou Bay, which is also the highest-grade deep-water wharf since Nantong's port construction—the No. 1-3 wharves of the San Gangchi Port Area in Nantong Port Tongzhou Bay—is nearing completion. The hydraulic structures of this project are built according to a 200,000-ton design, capable of accommodating one 200,000-ton and two 50,000-ton bulk carriers simultaneously. Its designed annual throughput capacity is 28.1 million tons, better meeting the bulk transportation needs of surrounding port-based industries and effectively improving the port functional layout of the new sea outlet in Tongzhou Bay.

Tongzhou Bay also has the unique advantage of combined river-sea transportation. Last year, the river-sea junction waters of the Tongzhou Bay Port Area were approved by the Maritime Safety Administration of the Ministry of Transport, becoming the first in Jiangsu and the second in the country to be approved as a Class A navigation area in river-sea junction waters.

On May 28, the first inland river vessel carrying steel successfully docked at the Huateng Wharf in the Sanjiasha West Port Area of Tongzhou Bay via the Dongzao Port Gate. Compared to traveling through coastal waters via the Yangtze River Estuary to the Yangtze River, this route saves approximately 68% in travel time. Furthermore, the direct water-to-water loading and unloading model is compared to the inland river transfer area transfer model, reducing one loading and unloading and one barge transportation, saving approximately 30% in transportation costs.

Inland rivers to ports, railways to freight yards, highways to wharves, and ports to the ocean—this comprehensive transportation network significantly reduces the cost of factor flow, opening up new channels for enterprises in the Yangtze River Economic Belt to go global.

To promote the construction of Jiangsu's strong maritime province, it is necessary to focus on marine science and technology and marine industries, comprehensively utilize coastal and nearshore resources and develop deep-sea and ocean resources, and develop new marine productivity according to local conditions.

Port-based high-end equipment manufacturing is an important part of the modern marine industrial system and an important engine for bay area economic development. From the beginning of its development and construction, the Tongzhou Bay Demonstration Zone initiated the reclamation of Sanjiasha and planned the construction of a high-end equipment port-based industrial park with a total coastline of 9.4 kilometers, capable of constructing 37 berths for 50,000 tons and below to support port-based industries. Behind the berths is the port-based industrial land. "This layout of port area in front and factory area in the back allows large products to be directly shipped out to sea. This kind of resource is rare in the entire Yangtze River Delta, becoming the biggest advantage for attracting large-scale projects to the port-based industry." said a person in charge of investment promotion in the Tongzhou Bay Demonstration Zone.

Major industrial projects with investments in the billions and tens of billions of yuan are flocking to this area, transforming the advantage of coastline resources into a competitive advantage for industrial agglomeration. According to statistics, the park has signed contracts with 22 major projects, including central enterprises, listed companies, and industry leaders, with a total investment of 39.49 billion yuan. These projects cover large-in, large-out, ship-in, ship-out port-based manufacturing industries such as shipbuilding and marine engineering equipment, new energy equipment, rail transit equipment, photovoltaic glass and components, and new metal materials. After full production, the estimated annual output value will be approximately 50 billion yuan, creating more new marine productivity with distinct marine elements in the race to "become strong through the sea".

Tunnel boring machines are known as the "kings" of engineering machinery and are indispensable "national treasures" for the construction of large-section tunnels across rivers and seas. In the first half of this year, 10 tunnel boring machines have been manufactured at the China Railway Construction Heavy Industry Group's tunnel boring machine base in the Tongzhou Bay Demonstration Zone, with an annual output value of 2.55 billion yuan. "Our products are all giants, and sea transportation allows us to transport them to all parts of the country and even overseas markets at low cost and with greater safety." said Li Dongsheng, Party Secretary and General Manager of China Railway 14th Bureau Group Equipment Co., Ltd.

From January to March this year, the shipbuilding and other transportation equipment manufacturing industry in the Tongzhou Bay Demonstration Zone contributed 9 percentage points to the growth of industrial output value above designated size. Currently, a number of major projects are under construction, including the China Railway Fourth Bureau Tongzhou Bay Intelligent Manufacturing Production Base project, the Lanshui Marine Engineering and Wind Power Equipment Manufacturing project, the Huada High-Performance Metal Decorative Plate Production project, the Jingtong Equipment Manufacturing project, and the Marine Special Ship R&D and Manufacturing and Offshore Wind Power Operation and Maintenance Service project.

To promote Jiangsu's construction of a strong maritime province, it is necessary to highlight the dual drivers of opening up to the outside world and regional coordination, deepen north-south industrial cooperation and innovation collaboration, and build a gathering place for advanced and high-quality production factors.

In recent years, the Tongzhou Bay Demonstration Zone has actively participated in the planning and co-construction of the Yangtze River Estuary Industrial Innovation Collaborative Zone, focusing on the spatial layout of "five parks, one city, and one base." It has also developed the Tongzhou Bay Petrochemical Dual Circulation Base, planned the construction of the Bay Area National (Middle East) Crude Oil Offshore Base and the Tongzhou Bay Bulk Commodity Storage and Transportation Base, and deepened cross-regional cooperation through models such as "base + expansion area," "headquarters + collaborative center," "offshore incubation," and "offshore innovation." This supports the city in building the northward fulcrum of the "1+8" Shanghai Metropolitan Area, becoming an important supporting area for the functional relief of Shanghai's international metropolis and responding to the construction of the Shanghai Metropolitan Area.

Currently, the CNPC Lanhai New Materials project, with a total investment of nearly 50 billion yuan, is about to start construction. The first phase will utilize ethane, liquefied gas, and other light hydrocarbon resources from the coastal refining and chemical project to develop high-end and characteristic new materials projects. By 2035, a cluster of characteristic products such as automotive lightweight materials, special rubber and elastomers, high-end polyolefins, and engineering plastics will be formed. Appropriate raw material supporting projects such as refining and chemical integration will be launched in due course to accelerate the construction of a Jiangsu coastal green petrochemical new material industrial cluster with international competitiveness, high-end products, a reasonable structure, and green and low-carbon characteristics.

To actively integrate into the Yangtze River Estuary Industrial Innovation Collaborative Zone, the Tongzhou Bay Demonstration Zone proactively responds to the construction of the Shanghai Science and Technology Innovation Center, comprehensively strengthening cooperation and docking with key parks in Shanghai and southern Jiangsu. Focusing on leading industries such as marine engineering equipment, petrochemical new materials, and modern textiles, it strives to build a "Shanghai-Southern Jiangsu R&D, Tongzhou Bay manufacturing" chain. On March 6 this year, the Tongzhou Bay Demonstration Zone (Shanghai) Yangtze River Estuary Industrial Innovation Collaborative Cooperation and Exchange Conference was successfully held, bringing together more than 100 guests, including entrepreneurs, industry experts from Shanghai and surrounding areas, and elites from Tongzhou Bay based in Shanghai. A total of 15 projects with a total investment of approximately 16 billion yuan were signed and settled in the demonstration zone.

In addition, a 200 million yuan Nantong Lingang Dongjiu Advanced Technology Equity Investment Fund was jointly established with Shanghai Lingang Science and Technology Innovation Investment Management Co., Ltd., Nantong Angel Seed Fund, and Dongjiu Xinyi Group. In the past three years, 11 industry-university-research cooperation projects have been carried out with universities in Shanghai, accounting for 21% of all industry-university-research cooperation projects.

Lu Zhong Hua, secretary of the Party Working Committee of the demonstration zone, stated that in the future, the demonstration zone will make every effort to grasp projects, cultivate superior industries, and increase the total volume, contributing more incremental shares to Nantong's efforts to take on greater responsibilities with each vibrant "new growth point," and assisting in the high-quality development of Jiangsu's coastal areas.