Hundreds of Zhanjiang projects prioritized by Guangdong

During the 1st session of the 13th Guangdong Provincial People's Congress, Zhanjiang had 121 of its projects worth 537.3 billion yuan ($84 billion) listed as key provincial projects for 2018.

From the 121 listed, 77 of them are set to start or continue on with unfinished work, while 44 projects will go through preparatory work this year, according to statistics from the Zhanjiang Development and Reform Commission.

The construction of the new Zhanjiang International Airport topped the list as it is touted to be a provincial transport artery in the future. With an initial investment of 1.6 billion yuan, this year's work will focus on the airfield and two terminals.

A rendering of the Zhanjiang International Airport. [Photo/Zhanjiang Daily]

Once it comes into operation in 2020, the airport will be upgraded from a 4C to 4E rating, the second highest ranking in China's five-tier airfield system, as it will have 30 gates, 58,000 square meters of terminals, and 3,200 meters of runway.

Furthermore, Zhanjiang will spend 770 million, 826 million and 800 million yuan on the Wuchuan feeder of Shantou-Zhanjiang Highway, Zhanjiang-Donglei Highway and Zhanjiang section of the Yulin-Zhanjiang Highway respectively.

Construction on the Zhanjiang section of Shantou-Zhanjiang Highway has already been completed, while that of Wuchuan feeder will kick off in 2018. [Photo by Lang Shuchen/Zhanjiang Daily]

A total of 9.8 billion yuan will be invested across 14 livelihood projects, including construction of the Zhanjiang No 1 Primary School, a new campus of Guangdong Ocean University and the upgrading of existing health centers and nursing homes.

The most remarkable of all the projects would have to be the 33 modern industrial ones valued at 143.3 billion yuan. These projects will cover the metalworking, pharmaceutical, agricultural, and salt manufacturing fields.