Chongqing-As of March 27, the Sichuan-Chongqing Gaozhu New Area, the only new area jointly built by cross-provincial cooperation in China, completed the construction of 26 projects in the first quarter of 2022, with a combined investment of 470 million yuan (about 73.7 million U.S. dollars).

In the first quarter of this year, the new area is expected to achieve a regional GDP of 3 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 79.64%.

Transport Construction

On March 27, 12 production lines of Sichuan Yuxingyu Advanced Material Technology Co., Ltd. are running at full capacity in Sichuan-Chongqing Gaozhu New Area. At the two workshops covering an area of about 23,000 square meters, more than 100 workers are performing their duties.

The head of the company introduced that it has started the construction of the second phase of the project and plans to invest more than 70 million yuan to build two more workshops.

The company decided to settle and add investment in the new area largely because it is adjacent to the inner city of Chongqing.

"The company's goods are transported in bulk, which requires extremely high logistics conditions," he said. "The new area is only a 50-minute drive away from the Chongqing Airport Industrial Park."

With the accelerated construction of the North-South Avenue and Gaozhu Interchange of Baotou-Maoming Expressway, the transport location advantage of the new area will be further enhanced.

After the opening of the North-South Avenue by the end of this year, the travel time from Sichuan-Chongqing Gaozhu New Area to the inner city of Chongqing will be reduced to half an hour from 50 minutes, according to the head of the company.

Sci-tech Innovation

Transport construction leads the way in improving the capacity of the new area while sci-tech innovation drives its high-quality development.

In January 2022, construction officially commenced on the sci-tech innovation base of the Sichuan-Chongqing Gaozhu New Area, with a total investment of 2.3 billion yuan. And the two villa-style research and development buildings have been topped out.

With a floor area of more than 400,000 square meters, the project integrates the industrial incubation area, sci-tech innovation, and supporting service areas.

"The sci-tech innovation base is the core project of the new area, which is vital to the scale and quality of its industrial development," said an official of Sichuan-Chongqing Gaozhu New Area.

For example, new energy vehicles are currently one of the leading industries in the new area. A number of prestigious universities have signed agreements and will formally settle in the new area after completing the base.

According to Tang Jiawen, Executive Deputy Director of the Management Committee of Sichuan-Chongqing Gaozhu New Area, the new area will make great efforts in transport construction and industrial development. 

This year, the new area will continue the construction of 14 major projects with a total investment of 2,532 million yuan and attract more than 25 projects with a total investment of more than 10 billion yuan.

To facilitate project construction, the new area is speeding up the reform of systems and mechanisms. Tang added that after the first cross-provincial tax and fee collection and management service center was put into operation, the cross-provincial electricity service center will also be used in the near future.

This year, the new area will make good use of 28 policies and measures in 7 aspects rolled out by Sichuan and Chongqing to support its reform, innovation, and development, and actively explore the mechanism featuring market access with the same standards in different places, to realize data sharing and cross-provincial sharing of development achievements.