Zone driving province’s

One of China’s largest national- level development areas, the Zhanjiang Economic and Technological Development Zone will one day grow into one of the main economic engines in Guangdong province, local officials predict.

Approved in 1984 by the State Council, the zone was among the first group of development areas established in 14 open costal cities.

It now accommodates 270,000 people living in an area of nearly 470 square kilometers.

After over two decades of development, the zone has formed a set of pillar industries, including iron, steel, petrochemicals and papermaking.

An oil- refining joint venture and the Baosteel Zhanjiang Iron and Steel Co plant are the two largest projects in the zone.

The oil-refining project is the result of cooperation between China Petroleum and Chemical Corp and Kuwait Petroleum Corp. The two parties signed an agreement to conduct joint oil and gas exploration in 2004.

With a total investment of 59 billion yuan ($9.6 billion), it became the largest joint venture project in the field in China since the reform and opening-up.

The petrochemical complex is designed to process 15 million tons of crude oil and produce one million tons of ethylene annually.

The plant will be put into production in 2015, and then it is projected to generate nearly 100 billion yuan in sales revenue and contribute 20 billion yuan in taxes each year.

Moreover, it will promote 200 billion yuan of investment in the supporting industries, providing an unprecedented opportunity for the development zone.

The iron and steel facility is also under construction. By the end of June, 1.9 billion yuan of investment had been realized.

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