Chongqing—Chongqing’s Qijiang District has lined up more than 700 major projects worth nearly 400 billion yuan (about 59.32 billion U.S. dollars)  for 2026 to 2030, aiming to modernize its manufacturing, energy and transport sectors while strengthening trade links between western China and Southeast Asia.

Qijiang District in Chongqing is surrounded by mountains and rivers. (Photo/Xiong Yu)

Qijiang unveiled the project pipeline at a Chongqing government briefing on August 17. Li Wei, executive deputy district mayor of the Qijiang District People's Government, said investment during China’s 2026 to 2030 development period would focus on transport, energy and industry.

Bordering Guizhou Province, Qijiang serves as Chongqing’s southern gateway and is seeking a larger role in the surrounding regional economy.

Yin Guoxi, secretary of the CPC Qijiang District Committee, said the district plans to build a "1131" modern industrial system.

The first "1" refers to advanced alloy and intelligent manufacturing, Qijiang's leading industry. The district is Chongqing's largest electrolytic aluminum production base, with an annual capacity of 340,000 metric tons.

It also has capacity for 500,000 tons of recycled copper, 1.2 million tons of recycled aluminum and 2.4 million tons of advanced aluminum processing, according to figures released at the briefing.

Qijiang currently has 107 large industrial enterprises in the sector, with combined output approaching 30 billion yuan. Authorities aim to develop the industry into a 50-billion-yuan cluster by extending production into higher-value manufacturing and new applications.

The second "1" represents energy. Qijiang serves as an important energy supply base for Chongqing and lies along a major electricity transmission route. The district has 17 ultra-high- and extra-high-voltage transmission lines extending 597 kilometers.

It is also home to a million-kilowatt pumped-storage power station and the Zaodu Reservoir project, one of China's major water conservancy projects.

Qijiang also holds estimated reserves of 850 billion cubic meters of shale gas, 400 billion cubic meters of coalbed methane and 300 million tons of shale oil.

By the end of 2030, the district expects annual shale gas production to reach 1.5 billion cubic meters and shale oil production to reach 300,000 tons.

Another priority is transport. Qijiang aims to create a southern Chongqing transport hub where passenger trips to Chongqing's central urban area take about 20 minutes and freight can reach overseas destinations within 20 hours.

The district is also advancing Qijiang Port and upgrading navigation along the Qijiang River.

Officials said a weekly freight service between Qijiang and Fangchenggang, a port city in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, together with dedicated freight trains for advanced aluminum materials, has cut logistics time and costs by about 40%.

The projects are tied to the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor, a logistics network centered on western China that connects inland regions with ports in southern China and overseas markets, including Southeast Asia.

Qijiang plans to develop a Chongqing-Guizhou service area for the corridor and strengthen industrial cooperation with neighboring Zunyi City in Guizhou Province.