With the settlement of major projects in iron and steel, refinery and papermaking, Zhanjiang Economic & Technological Development Zone has bolstered itself as the strongest economic engine in the city over the past five years.

The zone achieved 18.3 billion yuan ($2.8 billion) in GDP in the first half of this year, an increase of 18.2 percent year-on-year. Back in 2016, it recorded a total output value of 31 billion yuan, up 11.1 percent year-on-year.

With an investment of 50 billion yuan, construction on Baosteel Zhanjiang Iron & Steel refinery got underway in 2013. Four years later, the company saw its two blast furnaces come into full operation, selling products to South China, Italy and the ASEAN.

Aiming to build a world-class petrochemical base, the Sino-Kuwait refinery and petrochemical project, which started construction in December 2016, is expected to yield an output value of 60 billion yuan and tax revenue of 23 billion yuan upon completion.

In the meantime, the zone has become a production base for Guangdong Guanhao High-tech, which is the only producer of paper for value added tax invoicing in China, whose carbon paper, thermo-sensitive paper and anti-counterfeit paper are sold all over the world.

To further complete support facilities and foster growth, Zhanjiang Economic & Technological Development Zone plans to build a 6-sq-km iron and steel supportive industrial park with an investment of 10.3 billion yuan. So far, 60 iron and steel related projects have settled at the industrial park, of which 39 have come into service and the other 21 are under construction.

Construction on the infrastructure of a 37-sq-km petro-chemistry related industrial park, including water supply, electricity supply, roads, telecommunication, sewage treatment plant and wharf, have been sped up. Alongside is the settlement of more than 10 major projects worth 20 billion yuan.