Nanjing Jiangbei New Area soars to historic heights

Industrial enterprises whose annual revenue exceeds 20 million yuan have experienced an increase of 29.8 percent in GDP over the same period of last year. The area's social fixed-asset investment grew by 16 percent compared to the same period and 23 percent of the increased amount stemmed from industrial investment.

Since the beginning of this year, the new area has paid great attention to the construction of major projects. About 86 projects are in the pipeline with an investment of 32.1 billion yuan.

In early October, another 22 projects surrounding a few pillar industries including intelligent manufacturing and healthcare were being set up.

More than 50 major events have been held in the area, including an annual meeting on semiconductors and a forum on the development of China's financial tools.

From January to September, a total of 260 projects have been launched with a total investment of 160.2 billion yuan.

"Jiangbei New Area's advantages include having a clear goal, a healthy environment, great creativity and improved industrial structure," said Luo Qun, deputy secretary of the Party working committee of the Jiangbei New Area.

The new area is shaping itself into a hub of chip and genome technologies as well as a financial center.

Most of the top 10 integrated circuit design companies in China have branches in the new area. Also based in the area are more than 100 suppliers and manufacturers in the integrated circuit industry.

According to the local government, the new area is home to a national healthcare data center. About 700 healthcare companies have clustered there to form Asia's largest gene-sequencing base, whose output value is set to reach between 60 billion and 70 billion yuan in 2018.

The development of asset management, equity investment, financial technology and other emerging financial industries is encouraged in the area. As a result, over 20 new financial institutions have established their bases there, data from the local government showed.

The new area is also striving to be a modern, international and innovation-oriented demonstration zone, Luo said.

The area's core zone features a central business district, a healthcare district and an industrial research and development park.

Better resources in education, public services and medical care will be available to residents in the new area and its neighboring areas. A total of 34 educational institutions will be put into operation, including Harrow School, Thomas Jefferson School and Gulou Kindergarten.

National first-rate medical hospitals and institutions, such as the Fourth Affiliated Hospital with Nanjing Medical University, an oncology center and a diabetes research center, will be set up to form a medical service center.

The first bridge across the Yangtze River connecting northern and southern Nanjing was not built until 1968, but the area now has 11 river crossings, including bridges and tunnels. Another 24 are planned with two being built each year.

Xiang Lin contributed to the story.