Guangzhou Development District is striving to build the core engine of high-quality development in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and become a pioneer in realizing the new vitality of the city.

The district held the signing and commencement event for major industrial projects in the first quarter of this year on Tuesday.

A total of 49 projects were signed on the spot, while 48 industrial projects were launched and 12 power facilities projects started.

The 109 projects cover such sectors as new-generation information technology, intelligent equipment, biomedicine, new energy and new materials, artificial intelligence and digital economy, the modern service industry, modern agriculture and electric power facilities.

The total planned investment of construction and contracted projects is about 120.3 billion yuan ($18.87 billion). The annual output value and operating income are expected to reach 234.9 billion yuan.

Three of the projects that began construction on Tuesday are expected to have an output value of over 10 billion yuan each, and four of the signed projects are expected to have an output value of more than 5 billion yuan each. Their total output value and business revenue are estimated at 73.6 billion yuan.

On the same day, GDD signed a cooperation agreement with Guangzhou Power Supply Bureau, the Guangzhou State-owned assets supervision and administration commission, and the Guangzhou Branch of China Construction Bank, to jointly escort the "trillion-yuan manufacturing" plan in the three major areas of power security, State-owned assets cooperation and financial services.

Emerging industrial clusters

Driven by the double chains of industry and innovation, GDD will prioritize emerging clusters and promote the competitiveness of the modern industrial system during the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-25).

In the new-generation IT industry, Guangzhou Shiyuan Electronic Technology, or CVTE, a high-tech enterprise specializing in the design, development and sales of LCD main boards, has started to build its headquarters and an intelligent manufacturing base with a total investment of 3.3 billion yuan in the district.

"Starting with this project, we will be more involved in intelligent manufacturing, grasp the key links between product innovation and industrialization, and conduct research on the standard of craftsmanship," said Wu Chengling, senior vice-president of CVTE. "This project is also a starting point for our brand to be promoted to the world."

Comba Telecom Systems has begun construction of its 5G intelligent manufacturing industrial park in GDD with a total investment of 400 million yuan and an output value of about 3 billion yuan. The project will build an intelligent manufacturing workshop to carry 5G base station antenna products, devices, mobile robots, smart vision, smart parks and other product manufacturing.

Nine new-generation IT industry projects were signed and settled in GDD, with a total investment of about 14.9 billion yuan and an estimated output value of 23.1 billion yuan.

Fastprint's flip chip ball grid array, or FCBGA, packaging substrate production and research and development base is located in the Bay Area Semiconductor Industrial Park in the China-Singapore Guangzhou Knowledge City. With a total investment of about 6 billion yuan, it plans to build an intelligent factory with an annual production capacity of 230 million FCBGA packaging substrates.

New projects have also been introduced in the fields of new energy and new materials to facilitate the green development of "trillion-yuan manufacturing".

The nano fireproof film project is led by academician Xie Yi of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Xie's team developed the world's first pure inorganic intumescent thermal protection material and realized industrialized production.

Automobile and energy storage battery manufacturers have formed cooperation to further promote the development of the new energy automobile industry in the district.

Dongfang Hydrogen Energy, a subsidiary of Dongfang Electric Corp, will set up Dongfang Electric Greater Bay Area Hydrogen Energy Technology Headquarters in GDD, which will improve the hydrogen energy industry chain in the region and further boost the development of hydrogen energy industry clusters.

Biomedical industry

A number of projects were signed, settled and dedicated to building a life science innovation ecosystem and gathering high-end talents in the district.

During the event, 11 biomedical projects including Akeso Inc's national center for clinical research and operation and Daan Gene's Knowledge City Factory Project started, and 13 projects were signed and settled, with a total investment of 11.4 billion yuan.

Akeso was founded by a team of overseas returnees led by the national specially-appointed expert Xia Yu.

The clinical research and operation center is located in the Guangzhou International Bio Island.

The Daan Gene's project is located in the Knowledge City International Biomedical Innovation Park and involves a total investment of 1 billion yuan.

After the project is completed, it will be used to develop and produce a new drug base for bone, muscle and joint diseases.

The Guangzhou Zaizhi Bay Area Medical Research Institute, initiated and established by the team of academician Song Erwei, is a new type of research-oriented institution under the supervision of the Guangzhou health commission.

"Guangzhou Development District, led by high-level scientific research centers and sound industrial policies, has attracted thousands of biopharmaceutical enterprises and formed a robust entrepreneurial ecology in the field of biomedicine," said Song, adding that the institute will focus on tumor ecology and immunotherapy and build an industry-university-research interaction and multidisciplinary R&D platform integrating malignant tumor diagnostic products, macromolecular and small molecule targeted drugs.

Power guarantee

The construction of 12 electric power projects has been started, with a total investment of 2.1 billion yuan. It will provide strong power support to areas such as the new-generation IT industrial park, the international biomedical value innovation park, the integrated circuit industrial park and the Guangzhou artificial intelligence and digital economy pilot area.

At the event site, GDD and Guangzhou Power Supply Bureau of China Southern Power Grid Corp jointly signed the High-Reliable Power Supply Guarantee Real Economy Development Cooperation Agreement, and launched the reform of electricity business environment.

In 2021, the district realized the "six-dimensional improvement" in electricity consumption and regional economy, office power efficiency and quality, power supply guarantee and user services.

The upgraded reform includes 10 measures of "one acceleration, two innovations, three enhancements, and four optimizations".

By focusing on the dual carbon goal, the measures speed up the construction of a "green power" new energy grid and innovate the power management models, enabling enterprises to run electricity faster, with lower electricity costs, better services and higher power supply quality.

Representatives attend the signing ceremony of key projects in Guangzhou Development District, Guangdong province. CHINA DAILY