Construction of a production facility for eyeglass lenses and medical consumer goods has officially kicked off, after a grand groundbreaking ceremony took place in the Sino-Singapore Knowledge City in Huangpu district of Guangzhou, Guangdong province on Thursday.

The factory is expected to be completed and start production in June 2020, and will be the sixth facility built by German company Carl Zeiss AG in the southern metropolis.

During the groundbreaking ceremony, Matthias Metz, board member of Carl Zeiss AG, said the new site would be "the foundation" for Zeiss' growth in China and beyond.

"For Zeiss, this is one of the most important investments in Asia, an investment into Zeiss' capacities for serving the increasing customer base in China and Asia with solutions for eye and vision care," Metz said.

The new production facility will be dedicated to meeting the growing demand for state-of-the-art solutions for eye and vision care in China and Asia, according to Metz.

"The multi million-euro investment is proof of our commitment of develop Zeiss in China further - as a company, as a responsible employer and as contributor to the progress of the nation. And we are looking forward to the next decades of serving the demands of eye care professionals and consumers in China," he said.

Wilson Peng, managing director of Zeiss Vision Care China, said the company has been manufacturing eyeglass lenses in Guangzhou since 1998.

"Today, it is one of its leading factories for correction, and sun and photochromic lenses and is fully integrated into the global production network of Zeiss Vision Care," Peng said.

The firm is the latest to join the Sino-Singapore Knowledge City project, launched as a 50-50 collaboration between Singbridge International Singapore and the Guangzhou Development District's Administration Committee in 2010. According to the SSGKC website, the 123-square-kilometers site aims to house 500,000 people in a "live, work, learn and play" environment by 2030.

Chen Xiaohua, head of Guangzhou's Huangpu district, said he believes Zeiss' new production facility would have a bright future in the Chinese market. 

The groundbreaking ceremony for the new Zeiss production facility. [Photo/gzcankao.com]