Changxing Island Shipbuilding Program
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Program a new growth area of Liaoning
The government of Liaoning province is now implementing a massive industrial development program, aiming to revitalize this old industrial base in Northeast China. This program was proposed by the Liaoning provincial government in 2005, as an important part of the province's 11th Five-Year Development Plan (2006-10). The program, called the Development of the Coastal Economic Corridor, covers 21 districts and 12 counties in six cities in the coastal areas. Focusing on the development of the Dalian Changxing Island Port Industrial Zone, the Yingkou Coastal Industrial Base (including the Panjin Shipbuilding Industrial Base), the Jinzhou Bay-Rim Coastal Economic Zone (including the Jinzhou Xihai Industrial Zone and Huludao Northern Port Industrial Zone), the Dandong Industrial Zone and Dalian Huayuankou Industrial Zone, and the construction of the 1,430-km coastal highway linking the key development areas, the program is also called the "Five-Point along One-Line" Program. The Coastal Economic Corridor will have a planned area of 583 sq km, and the first-stage development area is 220 sq km. Significance The provincial government of Liaoning deems the program an important part of the ongoing program to revitalize the old industrial bases in Liaoning, expecting it can further improve the province's industrial layout and enhance its comprehensive economic strength. Liaoning is an important traditional heavy industry base in China. Most of the province's large industrial operations are located in the central regions, including such cities as Shenyang, Anshan and Fushun. Except for the port city of Dalian, the coastal region is comparatively weak in industrial development. However, the coastal region has their unique advantages for industrial development. The region, connecting Northeast China and North China and neighboring the Bohai Bay and the Yellow Sea, is the major sea transportation channel for Northeast China and Northeast Asian countries like Mongolia. The region's seaports, including Dandong, Dalian, Yingkou and Jinzhou, have business links with the seaports in more than 160 countries and regions in the world. The region also has more than 2,000 sq km of deserted saltpan, saline-alkali land and barren beach, which are not good for agricultural production but suitable for industrial development. In addition, the region has well-developed railway and highway transportation networks, linking the region to the rest of the country. Development targets Because of these advantages, this region will focus on building itself into a port-oriented industrial base, involving such sectors as equipment manufacturing, petrochemicals and metallurgy. According to the province's 11th Five-Year Development Plan, the first stage of the Coastal Economic Corridor will be completed by 2010. Dalian, the most important port in Northeast China, is now gearing up to building a shipping center in Northeast Asia. It is expected to become an international logistics center by 2020. Building Dalian into an international shipping center need the coordination and will surely drive the development of the neighboring ports like Dandong, Yingkou, Jinzhou, Huludao and Panjin. Shenyang, although not included in the program, will also benefit from the Coastal Economic Corridor development. An important industrial base and an inland transportation hub in Northeast China, this capital of Liaoning province will offer a convenient link between the port cities and the inland areas of Northeast China. In addition, the coastal region will also enhance cooperation with Jilin, Heilongjiang and Inner Mongolia in the fields of energy, raw materials and mineral resources developments. Development plan To achieve a sustainable development for the region, the Liaoning provincial government has mapped out the Development Plan for the Coastal Economic Corridor. Fully considering the economic, social and environmental factors, the plan offers guidance in the fields of infrastructure construction, environmental protection, industrial layout and investment promotion. With respect to infrastructure construction, emphasis will be placed on the building of port facilities such as crude oil, container, iron ore and steel berths. The large port infrastructure projects will include deep-water berths in Dalian's Changxing Island, Yingkou's Xianren Island and Huludao's Liaotiaogou; a 300,000-ton crude oil terminal in the Dalian Port; a container terminal in Yingkou; a large bulk cargo berth in Jinzhou Port; and a multi-purpose berth in the Dandong Port. The port companies will be encouraged to cooperate with domestic and foreign partners in port construction. Construction of transportation facilities will be another highlight of the Coastal Economic Corridor. New railways linking Dalian and Harbin and Shenyang and Yingkou, and new expressways connecting Dandong and Tonghua, Dandong and Haicheng, Chaoyang and Chifeng and Fushun and Meihekou, as well as a highway network connecting all the coastal cities will be built. In addition, airport facilities in Dalian and Shenyang will be further improved, making the two cities important logistics centers in the entire northeastern region. In the meantime, a batch of water supply, energy and petrochemical projects will be built in the region. To achieve a sustainable growth, the development requires local authorities and companies to enhance investment in environmental protection. Solid waste treatment, air pollution control and wastewater treatment projects will be launched in every development area in the region. The local authorities are required to implement strict environmental impact assessment standards when approving investment projects. Projects with high energy and resources consumption, and heavy pollution will not be approved in the key development areas. In addition, industrial development should go along with protection of wetland, marine environment and coastal forest belt construction, according to the development plan. Investment opportunities Zhang Chengyin (left), secretary of the Dalian Committee of the Communist Party of China, and Xia Deren, mayor of Dalian, visit the construction site of the Dalian Changxing Island Port Industrial Zone. The development of the Coastal Economic Corridor presents huge opportunities for investors from home and abroad. To attract investment from outside the region, a comprehensive investment promotion mechanism involving governmental bodies, intermediary organizations and enterprises will be established in the region. The region will target Japan, the Republic of Korea, Singapore as well as China's eastern regions, Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions and Taiwan province as the major source markets of investment. In addition, the local governments and investment intermediary organizations will strengthen cooperation with foreign investment promotion organizations and foreign embassies in China to introduce the region's business environment to foreign investors. Also, investment promotion offices will be set up in overseas regions to attract foreign investors. Investors from outside the region should pay attention to the overall development plan for the region to find appropriate investment projects. According to the plan, various industrial clusters will be formed in different areas in the region. For example, the Changxing Island in Dalian will focus on industries like shipbuilding, petrochemicals, precise instruments production and port logistics; while the priority industries in Yingkou will be metallurgical and mining equipment manufacturing, steel making and shipbuilding. Also, Jinzhou will focus on petrochemicals and non-ferrous metal processing and Dandong will be a major destination for such industries as automobile parts production, papermaking and paper making equipment manufacturing. The region especially welcomes foreign companies to set up regional headquarters and research and development centers there. (China Daily 03/05/2008 page26)
Italian major places $180m order for ships
SHANGHAI: Italian shipping company Rizzo-Bottiglieri-De Carlini Armatori SpA offered a $180 million contract on Wednesday to Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipyard for two 177,000-dwt ships. "These will be the largest ships in our fleet. With them, we will develop a deep and stable commercial relationship with China, especially with its major steelmakers," said Giuseppe Mauro Rizzo, managing director of RBD Armatori, adding that China's shipping community is very valuable for them. In the past two years, RBD Armatori has ordered four 110,000-ton Aframax tankers and four 87,500-ton Post Panamax bulk carriers from Shanghai Hudong Zhonghua Shipyard, worth a total of $450 million. All the ships will be delivered between 2009 and 2011. With the latest contract, the Italian shipping major has ordered 10 vessels from Chinese shipbuilders worth about $650 million. All orders went to shipyards under the State-owned CSSC group. RBD Armatori also ordered two 108,000-ton Aframax tankers and four 83,000-ton Kamsarmax bulk carriers, valued at $350 million, from Tsuneishi Shipbuilding Company of Japan for delivery in 2011. "The quality of these ships is very competitive and we believe the Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipyard is one of the top shipbuilders in the world for making very large ships," said Rizzo. "I am proud to be the first Italian ship owner to have ordered Capesize bulk carriers from China and also to have our ships built at the highly advanced facility of Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipyard on Changxing Island, which will soon represent the most advanced shipbuilding plant in the world. "We intend to continue with our new building program in China and for this reason we are strengthening our relationship with reputable shipyards such as SWS and Hudong." RBD Armatori is fully owned by the Rizzo, Bottiglieri and De Carlini families and has been in the shipping business since 1850. Today the company operates a fleet of about 50 ships, transporting about 30 million tons per year, enjoying an annual turnover of about 600 million euros. The group also owns hotels and mineral water brands in Italy. (China Daily 02/01/2008 page14)
Coastal renaissance vital for northeast Asian prosperity
The development of the coastal economic belt of Liaoning is of great importance for regional cooperation throughout Northeast Asia, according to a number of leading commentators. The comments come in the light of the State Council recently approving a plan to boost the development of the region's coastal area. Coastal renaissance vital for northeast Asian prosperity Commenting on the decision, Liu Bin, a professor at the Dalian Maritime University, said: "The timing of this announcement shows the central government hopes Liaoning will lead a degree of regional revitalization amid the current global economic slump." In the wake of the economic slowdown, the Asia Pacific region has emerged as the most likely center for initial financial recovery. Within that region, Northeast Asia is tipped to be one of the most dynamic areas of growth, according to Li Jingyu a professor at the Liaoning Normal University. As the only coastal area in northeast China, the development of the Liaoning region is considered essential for the country's plan to transform the fortunes of many of the traditional industrial bases in the region. With the benefits of a developed transport infrastructure, rich natural resources and a sound industrial basis, the coastal zone is widely seen as having the potential to become the core economy in the region, Li said. The development plan of the coastal economic area has been designed to be in line with the planned overall industrial upgrading of the region. As a coastal area with excellent port facilities, Dalian is widely considered as a suitable base for large-scale chemical and manufacturing industries. The quality of its port facilities gives it a huge cost advantage in terms of bulk transportation. At present, about one third of the iron ore and crude oil, imperative for the chemical and steel plants in northeast China, are transported via ports in Liaoning. Li said: "This factor alone demonstrates Lioaning's natural advantages in terms of developing large-scale chemical or petroleum plants. This could lead to the industrial upgrading of the whole region." Li also believes that the development of the region will speed up the process of urbanization in the province. "Those currently unemployed will migrate to the newly founded small towns and further fuel the fast development of the coastal economic belt." he said. He also called on developers in the region to learn the lesson from the renewal programs initiated in the coastal areas of other countries and also to ensure that each city should map out it's own individual program for the future. Li said: "The upgrading of the industrial structure of the coastal economic belt should focus on the construction of several major industrial clusters. Each city should map out its industrial aspirations based on its existing strengths. "For instance, Dandong should focus on its traditional industry - auto parts manufacturing. Changxing Island in Dalian should develop its equipment manufacturing capacity and its shipbuilding. Yingkou can focus on biomedicines and new energy while Jinzhou should give priority to heavy chemical plants and the petro-chemical industry." The coastal economic belt is adjacent to the Bohai Sea and the Yellow Sea. It includes six coastal cities - Dalian, Dandong, Jinzhou, Yingkou, Panjin and Huludao. With an inland area of more than 56,000 Sq km, its coastline stretches to nearly 3,000 km.