A view of Huaihua Hi-tech Industrial Development Zone, Hunan province [Photo/hunan.voc.com.cn]
Founded in July 2016, Huaihua Hi-tech Industrial Development Zone received approval from the State Council as the eighth national-level zone of its kind in Hunan in February 2018. Sitting at the center of the Guiyang-Chongqing-Yichang-Changsha-Guilin Rim within a 400 kilometers radius, the zone enjoys convenient transportation advantages with a number of highways, national roads, railways, high-speed rails and waterways.
Spanning a total planning area of 72 square kilometers, the zone was divided into three parts: a core area, Hexi Park and Chengdong Park, with an area of 41.3 sq km, 20.7 sq km and 10 sq km respectively. Focusing on green industries with high scientific and technological content, low resource consumption and less environmental pollution, the core area gathers numerous industries covering new material, biological medicine and eco-friendly food, as well as many domestic and overseas renowned companies, like Wahaha Group, the leading beverage company in China.
Hexi Park, covering an area of 20.7 sq km, is the zone's core carrier to develop the industrial clusters of trade logistics, cultural creativity, smallware processing and big health services. The 10-sq-km Chengdong Park has given priority to the development of eco-friendly food, poultry product processing and the food logistics industry.
Over years of development, the zone has witnessed continuous improvement of the infrastructure and functional supportive facilities, and 56 scientific and technological enterprises have been introduced and cultivated in the zone, which boost the growth of four modern pillar industries, covering electronic information, biological medicine, eco-friendly food and new energy and materials.
In 2016, the total income from technology, industry and trade achieved 32.6 billion yuan ($4.84 billion), a year-on-year growth of 25 percent. The industrial added value and fixed-asset investment reached 2.86 and 4.55 billion yuan, a growth of 15 and 27 percent respectively. The zone realized public financial revenue of 640 million yuan, an increase of 15 percent.