3-year triumphs for North Hongqiao

THE Jiading section of the Hongqiao International Open Hub has been strengthening its opening-up and accelerating innovation over the past three years to continuously sharpen its core competitive edges, a senior official of Jiading District told a recent press conference.

The Overall Plan for the Construction of Hongqiao International Open Hub got the go-ahead three years ago.

“In 2023, the Jiading section posted tax revenue of 6.04 billion yuan (US$840 million), up 44.3 percent year on year and a new record,” Jiading Director Gao Xiang said when speaking of North Hongqiao and its latest efforts to promote innovation within the area.

“The industrial output value of above-scale enterprises stood at 17.9 billion yuan, accounting for nearly 40 percent of the total of the Hongqiao International CBD, whilst 24 key projects with investment totaling 21 billion yuan were pushed forward during the same 12-month period.”

Moreover, 5,604 new enterprises were added and 50 projects with investment exceeding 100 million yuan each were introduced into the Jiading section last year, both exceeding the targets set earlier.

The import and export value of the Jiading Comprehensive Bonded Zone surpassed the 10-billion-yuan threshold for the first time in 2023, an increase of 18.8 percent from the previous year.

The 6th edition of the Scientific Technology Fair for the Yangtze River Delta Region, which took place in Jiading in November 2023, registered technical transactions of 430 million yuan, a year-on-year rise of 34.3 percent.

On the innovation front, North Hongqiao area has been focusing on the building of a number of industrial clusters covering digital new economy, life science, and low-carbon and new energy segments.

A plan for the “Top Hongqiao Urban Renewal Zone” was also unveiled late last year, with a plan to launch around 20 hectares of land designated for R&D purposes before the end of this year.