【Xinhua Daily】Front Page | Tongzhou Bay strives to build a 100 billion-level industrial new city

Release time：

2024-08-19

【Xinhua Daily】Front Page | Tongzhou Bay strives to build a 100 billion-level industrial new city

Riding the wind and waves, Tongzhou Bay's integrated demonstration zone for river and sea connectivity has delivered impressive results in the first half of the year: regional GDP, industrial added value above designated size, and total foreign trade import and export volume increased by 8.7%, 25.4%, and 155.2% year-on-year respectively, all ranking first in Nantong. Recently, the Tongzhou Bay Demonstration Zone Party Working Committee's mid-year work meeting proposed even more exciting goals: in the competition for river and sea dominance, to become stronger when facing stronger competitors, to become more courageous with each battle, and to strive to be a pacesetter in high-quality development along Jiangsu's coast.

In Nantong's "top ten competing for river and sea dominance" structure, the Tongzhou Bay Demonstration Zone is the youngest player. Where does its confidence to "become more courageous with each battle" come from?

"With favorable timing, location, and people, although Tongzhou Bay is not yet large, it must strive to make a great contribution." Lu Zhong Hua, Secretary of the Party Working Committee of the Tongzhou Bay Demonstration Zone, introduced that the 20th session of the 3rd Plenum of the 19th CPC Central Committee clearly stated the need to improve the system and mechanism for promoting the development of the marine economy. The "Guiding Opinions on the Development of the Yangtze River Economic Belt" and the "Guiding Opinions on the Integrated Development of the Yangtze River Delta Region" both entrust Tongzhou Bay with important missions. By leveraging its advantageous location with access to both the river and the sea, Tongzhou Bay strives to become a "dynamic piece" on the national strategic chessboard and build a "frontline position" for the province's strategy of developing the ocean and pursuing maritime strength.

The "key to victory" in regional competition lies in projects. Tongzhou Bay has a good account: three projects with an investment exceeding 10 billion yuan each—the Fu莱特 photovoltaic project, the HuaDa thin plate project, and the HuaNeng power plant—are under construction and will be put into operation successively, and are expected to generate an industrial output value exceeding 200 billion yuan; five major industrial parks under key development—the green new material port industrial park, the high-end equipment port industrial park, and the modern textile industrial park—are expected to increase industrial output value by more than 500 billion yuan in three years. These two aspects are expected to enable the Tongzhou Bay Demonstration Zone's industrial output value to quadruple its current level.

More high-quality projects are accelerating their entry into Jiangsu's new seaport. In midsummer, visiting the China Petroleum Blue Ocean New Materials project site, more than 100 strong impactors and pile drivers stand on the shore of the Yellow Sea, working hard on trial compaction and pile driving. As a wholly-owned subsidiary of the China National Petroleum Corporation, Lanhai New Materials (Tongzhou Bay) Co., Ltd., with a total investment of 500 billion yuan and registered capital of 80 billion yuan, has completed registration, and the project has fully entered the foundation treatment phase.

"The progress of the factory's trial compaction and pile driving project implemented by the enterprise has exceeded 60%, and 26 supporting infrastructure projects have also been fully launched. The first phase of the project is expected to begin trial production in July 2026." Shi Hongjie, deputy secretary of the Party Working Committee and director of the Management Committee of the Tongzhou Bay Demonstration Zone, introduced that not only Lanhai New Materials, but also the China National Petroleum Corporation's science and technology innovation demonstration zone will be located in Tongzhou Bay, building seven scientific and technological innovation platforms in seven new materials fields, and creating the largest and most comprehensive petrochemical new materials science and technology innovation demonstration base in China.

On the map of Jiangsu, the Tongzhou Bay Demonstration Zone, with its access to both the river and the sea, is like a small chess piece, but it carries significant weight—it can accommodate a deep-water port and is located at the intersection of national strategies such as the Yangtze River Economic Belt and the integrated development of the Yangtze River Delta, and Jiangsu's "1+3" key functional area strategic layout. Relying on the construction of the Tongzhou Bay new seaport, Nantong plans to build a full-industry chain green petrochemical base, from oil and gas to end-consumer products, to better support Jiangsu in serving the national construction of a new development pattern and striving to be a model.

Building a Tongzhou Bay petrochemical dual-circulation base has become one of Nantong's "two major long-term plans." The firm investment by China National Petroleum Corporation means that this plan is moving from blueprint to reality.

Seizing the momentum and mentioning "Tongzhou Bay speed," since the beginning of this year, the Tongzhou Bay Demonstration Zone has held more than 50 investment promotion activities, including the Yangtze River Estuary Industrial Innovation and Collaborative Shanghai Cooperation Exchange Conference and the Joint Construction of Petrochemical Dual-Circulation Base Shenzhen Cooperation Exchange Conference, signing 77 new projects with a total investment exceeding 260 billion yuan, exceeding last year's total. Shi Xingkai, deputy secretary of the Party Working Committee of the Tongzhou Bay Demonstration Zone, introduced that six projects in Tongzhou Bay have been included in the provincial major project list this year and have all started construction. Including Lanhai New Materials, the demonstration zone has more than 70 industrial projects under construction, with a total investment exceeding 1000 billion yuan.

Grasping the "bull's-eye" of high-quality projects and accelerating the cultivation and development of new productive forces. In Tongzhou Bay, the reporter happily encountered many "champion enterprises": Junwei Steel Rope and Rigging's steel rope strength has reached the industry's highest level of 2160, and a rope with a diameter of 66 mm can withstand a strength of 450 tons—approximately the weight of more than 110 adult elephants; Xinghan Machinery is committed to the research and development and manufacturing of high-end five-axis or more CNC gear grinding machines, becoming the first Chinese company in the industry to achieve a quality standard of level 1; the China Railway Construction large shield machine base will tailor-make shield machines for the currently longest and largest underwater shield tunnel in China—the HaiTai Yangtze River Tunnel.

Accelerating the upgrading from traditional park construction to industrial cluster construction, from the simple introduction of large projects to the introduction and cultivation of industrial chain leading enterprises, and from the construction of small regional functions to the service of the development of greater Tongzhou Bay; using the breakthrough in the construction of the Tongzhou Bay petrochemical dual-circulation base to promote the implementation of national strategies, using the breakthrough in major port-based industrial projects to promote the integrated development of port, industry, and city, and using the breakthrough in high-level regional cooperation platforms to build a new landmark for Jiangsu's marine industry development. Lu Zhong Hua said that by continuously promoting "three upgrades" and "three breakthroughs," firmly grasping projects, improving industries, and increasing the total volume, the Tongzhou Bay Demonstration Zone strives to build a new industrial city with an output value of over 100 billion yuan along Jiangsu's coast within about three years.

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