Boasting the advantages of a port, Chaozhou city in South China's Guangdong province is stepping up efforts to develop industrial clusters based on its coastal location.

Located in Raoping, the only coastal county in Chaozhou, the Chaozhou Port economic development zone has promoted projects featuring energy, logistics and food-processing industries.

Official data show that from January to August, a total of eight key projects in the zone at provincial and city levels accumulated an investment of 848 million yuan ($131.25 million). It accounts for 73.74 percent of the zone's annual investment plan.

In the zone, a liquefied natural gas terminal of Chaozhou Huaying Natural Gas is under construction. Its development includes a harbor, reception, processing station and large tanks.

According to the company, the terminal will receive LNG shipped from abroad. It will supply the gases via pipelines to power plants, cities nearby Chaozhou and businesses in Guangdong province. It will also transport the LNG in tankers to rural areas and microbusinesses as well as gas stations. Huaying Natural Gas is also expected to boost the development of those projects that utilize cold energy.

LNG should be stored at a temperature of－162 degrees Celsius, which places a higher demand on its storage tanks, the company said.

The project will be completed in two phases. Phase one includes the installation of three LNG storage tanks. Each has a storage capacity of 130 million cubic meters of gases, which will be able to ensure a two-month gas supply for Chaozhou residents, said Jia Shidong, general manager of Huaying.

Chaozhou's port area has attracted mega investment projects. CHINA DAILY

The first phase of the project has a total investment of 7.4 billion yuan. It is expected to supply 6 million metric tons of gases and generate an output value of 13 billion yuan annually after being put into operation in 2023, Jia said.

"With a sound natural environment, Chaozhou boasts enormous potential in economic development," Jia said.

The city has witnessed burgeoning development in the ceramics industry, which has a huge demand for energy, he said.

"We cannot chase the economic growth at the expense of environmental pollution. That means LNG can be seen as an alternative clean energy for generating power and serving relevant industries," he noted.

"That is one of the reasons why we have decided to settle the project here."

Compared with Zhuhai and Shenzhen, the lower labor costs in Chaozhou also help the project stay competitive among market players, Jia added.

Listed as a national-level key energy infrastructure project, the terminal will become an essential source for natural gas supply in Guangdong. It aims to help ease the rigid demand for LNG and clean energy in the province, he said.

"Our vision is to contribute to clean energy and help with local green development," he said.

Another project is the Chaozhou production base for grain and oil processing of Yihai Kerry Arawana Holdings, a food products processing company.

According to Yihai Kerry, the project involves a production base and a supporting wharf as a distribution base.

The production base incorporates three sectors of the food industry, fodder protein development and oil production. Its annual output value is expected to achieve 13.29 billion yuan. It is scheduled to begin operation in 2022, said Huang Bin, general manager of the project.

Yihai Kerry has developed more than 70 such processing bases and more than 200 plants, Huang said.

The premium location and big market room in Chaozhou have prompted the company to decide to build the new base here, he added.

"The location of Chaozhou gives us an edge in expanding our markets in eastern Guangdong province and Fujian province," Huang said. It also helps the company develop its market in Ganzhou, Jiangxi province, he added.

The project will help to boost the development of related businesses, and build an industrial cluster that integrates logistics, production and processing, and intelligent breeding, aiming to contribute to the economic growth of Chaozhou, according to the company.

"The implementation and operation of such big projects can benefit the development of whole industrial chain," said Huang Lihui, deputy director of the administrative committee of the Chaozhou Port economic development zone.

Yihai Kerry's production base has attracted more potential investors to the zone. It helps to establish a solid foundation in Chaozhou Port to build the modern food and processing industrial cluster in eastern Guangdong, Huang added.

Currently, the three emerging industries of green energy, modern ports and logistics, and food processing have taken shape in the Chaozhou Port area. They are becoming major engines to lead the high-quality development of the coastal economic belt in Chaozhou, local officials said.