Zhuhai residents will have a new tourism model to experience upon the future operation of the Jiuzhou Floating Island Marine Tourism project, which has recently received approval for occupying the sea area.

This is the first marine farm project to win approval in Zhuhai this year. It has a total investment of 500 million yuan ($70 million), half of which will go to Phase I construction. 

Rendering of the project's cultural tourism sightseeing facility. [Photo courtesy WeChat account: zhuhaifabu]

It covers a sea area of around 50 hectares to the west of Sanjiao Island in the Wanshan Archipelago, and has a cultural tourism site and an accompanying floating platform. This project is surrounded by water on all sides, so transport boats are needed to travel between it and land ports.

Before the project was approved, a sea area utilization study was conducted, as well as a feasibility study and a navigation safety environmental impact evaluation report. Opinions from nine departments, such as the Zhuhai Maritime Bureau and the Zhuhai Transport Bureau, were also sought. Of note, approval for the application was issued in only 24 hours.

Officials of Hezhou's preparatory group noted that a demonstration has been planned for the subsequent application procedures for fishing and tourism integration projects in Zhuhai, which are sure to boost the high-quality development of the marine economy.