Zhuhai's fiscal expenditure in 2022 on nine sectors related to people's livelihood, including education, medicine, and health reached 42.93 billion yuan ($6.33 billion), accounting for 60 percent of its general public budget expenditure, announced officials from the Zhuhai Finance Bureau on Feb 7.

Local residents' sense of gain, happiness, and security has increased as ensuring and improving people's livelihood has long been the fundamental purpose and goal of Zhuhai's financial work in 2022.

The city's fiscal expenditure on education last year amounted to 11.67 billion yuan ($1.72 billion) for implementing the 12-year free education program and improving compulsory education after-school service quality. An additional fund of 5 billion yuan ($738 million) was invested to increase the total number of public basic education slots by 31,800, as well as to build or renovate 38 kindergartens, primary schools, and middle schools. 

Priority was given to ensuring people's life security, with 253 million yuan ($37 million) devoted to the renovation and expansion project of Zhuhai Hospital of Integrated Traditional Chinese & Western Medicine in Gongbei, construction of a municipal biosafety P3 laboratory in Nanping, as well as upgrading of Guangdong TCM Hospital, Zhuhai in Jida. The city has also invested 105 million yuan ($15 million) to support the high-quality development of the Fifth Affiliated Hospital of Zunyi Medical University (Zhuhai Campus) in Doumen.

To boost employment, Zhuhai allocated a total fund of 2.1 billion yuan ($310.2 million) to support workers' professional improvement and create more job opportunities.

Baishi Bridge over Qianshan River [Photo by Ye Qiuming / Zhuhai Media Group]

The city invested 848 million yuan ($125.1 million) on rural vitalization, such as constructing a "vegetable basket" base, promoting new agricultural varieties and techniques, as well as work related to improving the rural living environment.

Zhuhai's west wing received a total fund of 7.62 billion yuan ($1.12 billion) in 2022 to optimize its infrastructure construction, as well as to boost its education and medicine sectors, helping to build a twin-city development structure. 

The basic pension and financial subsidies for medical insurance for urban and rural residents each increased to 500 yuan ($74) and 720 yuan ($106) per person from July 1, 2022 from the previous 490 yuan ($72) and 650 yuan ($96).

The city devoted 2.24 billion yuan ($330.44 million) to ecological protection efforts last year, moving forward projects related to the treatment of the Qianshan River, protection of farmlands, as well as air pollution prevention and control. 

Efforts were also made in ensuring security in Zhuhai, with a total expenditure of 3.53 billion yuan ($520.42 million). Another 397 million yuan ($59 million) went to enhancing public cultural and sports facility construction and supporting tourism development, covering the organization of various events like the 2nd Zhuhai Art Festival and Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area New Year Concert.