The Qinzhou Port area of the China (Guangxi) Pilot Free Trade Zone reached a GDP of 12.06 billion yuan (1.73 billion) in the first quarter, showing a year-on-year growth of 7.5 percent. 

The GDP of the Qinzhou Port area of the Guangxi FTZ reaches 12.06 billion yuan in the first quarter. [Photo/WeChat account: gh_df8bc987e060]

Additionally, Qinzhou completed a planned industrial output value of 32.8 billion yuan within the same period, a year-on-year growth of 15.4 percent.

This year, the construction schedules of 50 major projects at the autonomous region level and 126 key projects at the municipal level have been accelerated in the Qinzhou Port area, while two new projects with investments exceeding 10 billion yuan have started construction.

More than 100 workers and 60 sets of equipment are currently working to complete Qinzhou's new energy battery material integration project, which has a total investment of 10.1 billion yuan.

The first phase of the Guangxi Hengyi New Materials project is also still under construction and will be built in a 1,700-mu (113-hectare) area. This project has a total investment of 22 billion yuan.

"Project contract investments in 2023 are expected to reach 4.5 billion yuan, of which the investment in fixed assets is expected to be 2 billion yuan. About 629 million yuan has already been completed in the first quarter alone," said Liu Jitao, a director of Guangxi Hengyi New Material.

The Guangxi branch of the China National Petroleum Corporation (PetroChina) accelerated the construction of its petroleum refining and chemical integration transformation and upgrading projects. To date, the company has completed an investment of 1.1 billion yuan for its projects and is expected to complete a total investment of about 5 billion yuan this year.

"Our company processed 2.34 million metric tons of petroleum in the first quarter, with a total output value of 13.3 billion yuan. The company's processing volume remains efficient in the second quarter, including our total industrial output value in April, which reached 4.44 billion yuan," said Zheng Xiaoxi, deputy director of the Guangxi branch of PetroChina.

Lu Chongshan, head of the bureau of industry and high-tech industries in the Qinzhou Port area of the Guangxi FTZ, said that the bureau will keep a close eye on project construction to help companies develop at a high quality.