An LNG receiving station in the Yangkou Port Economic Development Zone of Rudong. [Photo/WeChat account: rudongfb]

Rudong, a county in Nantong, East China's Jiangsu province, has been ramping up efforts to develop its maritime economy in recent years in response to the province's coastal development strategy.

Constructing a large-scale port, working to attract industrial projects, and improving administrative services are the county's major moves.

Since it officially opened to traffic in 2011, the liquid product throughput of Yangkou Port has already exceeded 1 million metric tons per year. In 2021, Yangkou Port received 7.18 million tons of liquefied natural gas, setting a record high.

In the first half of this year, the cargo throughput of Yangkou Port reached over 3.5 million tons, much the same as last year.

Rudong has also constructed three maritime industrial hubs – the Yangkou Port Economic Development Zone, Yangkou town, and the Rudong Economic Development Zone – to promote the maritime economy.

With support from Yangkou Port, the Yangkou Port Economic Development Zone focuses on new chemical materials and LNG, Yangkou town focuses on port-vicinity industries involving new chemical materials, high-end plant protection, and new energy, and the Rudong Economic Development Zone emphasizes high-end equipment manufacturing, safe protection, and new fibrous materials.

The county has also simplified administrative processes and improved administrative services. For example, the number of materials needing to receive governmental approval for project construction has been cut from 363 to 281.