Zhongshan, a city in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, is boosting the size and quality of its industrial parks and upgrading its manufacturing facilities to attract investments.

Official data showed that the city introduced 209 large projects from January to August with an aggregate investment amount of about 42 billion yuan ($5.8 billion). Seventy-one of the projects will bring more than 100 million yuan each to the city, with six projects expected to surpass 1 billion yuan.

About 30 percent of the new projects fell into the categories of high-end equipment manufacturing, biomedicine and new generation information technology, key sectors that the city highlights. About 34 percent went to the service industry, said a senior official from the Zhongshan Investment Promotion Bureau.

The bureau, officially set up in early August, will consolidate the resources of the city and map out practical strategies to improve the attractiveness of the area, the official said.

A worker checks components in a smart production workshop of Galanz Group in Zhongshan. XIA SHENGQUAN/FOR CHINA DAILY

One of the major efforts is to sort out inefficient industrial parks in towns and villages of Zhongshan and try to turn them into bigger facilities. In this way, the industrial parks could be more attractive to companies, vital at this time when first-tier cities in China are all facing land shortages, the official said.

Many towns in Zhongshan have developed their locally featured industries. For example, metal fittings and underwear manufacturing in Xiaolan town, casual wear in Shaxi town and home appliances in Dongfeng town. Some industries have gained fame that way across the country.

Since the establishment of the bureau in August, it has introduced eight projects, mainly in strategic emerging industries, with a total investment of 2.3 billion yuan in fixed assets, which occupy a total of 230.3 mu (15.33 hectares) of land.

Under the new framework of the city to deepen cooperation with cities on the eastern side of the Pearl River, the bureau has contacted more than 200 investment projects from Shenzhen, of which 16 have signed agreements with an investment of 7.4 billion yuan.

It also invited representatives of more than 100 companies and commercial associations from the Bay Area to visit Zhongshan and tap business opportunities.

Liu Lianggui, general manager of Zhongshan Tianji Technology, said the city is more attractive to investors because of the continuous efforts of the local government to improve the business environment.

One of his company's projects is settled in Xiaolan, Zhongshan, and serves as an industrial platform to upgrade the industries of the town and as a bridge between the companies and public services. So far, 40 companies have entered the industrial park of the project after more than a year of operations, Liu said.