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Ganzhou looks to a bright future

By Pang Yi (China Daily)
Updated: 2008-10-22 17:25

Ganzhou in southern Jiangxi province is expected to benefit from a new round of global industrial restructuring. As manufacturers move out of the Yangtze River and Pearl River deltas into low-cost hinterland areas, Ganzhou is braced for development.

Ganzhou plans to be a leader in using the investments that are on their way for new destinations, banking on its status as a vital city linking central and western parts of the country and the coastal provinces.

As such the city inked an agreement with Hong Kong-based building contractor HKC (holdings) Ltd on Sept 18 in Hong Kong. The two sides will jointly construct the Hong Kong Industrial Park in Ganzhou.

'Project No 1'

Dubbed "Project No 1" by the local government, the park is expected to boost the development of Ganzhou and Jiangxi province. The move also helps Hong Kong companies find new investment sites as this round of industrial restructuring continues.

With a total area of 50 sq km, the park is expected to accommodate 1,000 enterprises upon completion. Park development will be over eight to 10 years, in five phases.

Local government hopes the innovative and ecological park will be a major base for investments from Hong Kong and the Pearl River Delta region.

Bridgehead for investors

The city has already become a bridgehead for investors eager to relocate their manufacturing businesses from coastal areas to lower-cost hinterland areas.

The local government plans to build Ganzhou into a mega city raditing to Jiangxi, Guangdong, Fujian and Hunan provinces, with a population of 2-3 million within over 20 years (the city has a population of 8.8 million, with 550,000 urban dwellers).

Ganzhou is a neighbor to one of the country's major economic powerhouses, Guangdong province in the south, Fujian province in the east and Hunan province in the west. It is a major transport nexus connecting the vast domestic market with the developed coastal areas.

With a sophisticated network of expressways, railways and waterways, Ganzhou will soon become a new transportation hub of the country.

Ganzhou is a big city along the Beijing-Kowloon Railway. The Ganzhou-Longyan Railway, which started operations in 2005, is a convenient access point between Jiangxi and Fujian provinces.

Four of the six expressways running across the city reach the Pearl River Delta within three to five hours. Flights can reach the country's major cities in five to six hours. Waterway transport links the city with coastal ports via the Ganjiang River and Yangtze River.

Rich natural resources are another advantage for Ganzhou. The Ganzhou region is called the "capital of tungsten" and is home to navel oranges. The region boasts 99 kinds of mineral reserves and strong development of the mining sector and new-material industry is expected.

Ganzhou's potential for development has aroused the attention of investors. In the first half of the year alone, contracted foreign investment to the city topped $460 million, while contracted domestic investment reached 12 billion yuan ($1.7 billion).

'Nursermaid services'

The city is offering "nursermaid services" to help stimulate growth, especially in the Hong Kong Industrial Park, to create one of the country's best places in investment environment.

Investment costs in Ganzhou are only about one third of that in the Yangtze River and Pearl River deltas.

It is 5 to 10 percent lower than in Chenzhou of Hunan province, Heyuan of Guangdong province and Ji'an in Jiangxi province.

The city offers 30 preferential measures to attract investors, including land development subsidies for investors, water and power subsidies, and a five-year value-added tax rebate which is intended to help investors partially counteract logistics costs.

The city has also reduced administration costs and streamlined investment approval procedures.

Officials from the city said they will be building the industrial park into a first-class industrial center.