Needed infrastructure in place ahead of circus festival
Recently completed infrastructure will pave the way for the smooth flow of traffic into and out of the Hengqin New Area during the upcoming first China International Circus Festival, local officials said.
Located in Zhuhai, Guangdong province, across a narrow waterway from Macao, the new area on Hengqin Island will be the venue for the grand gala, set to run from Nov 20 to Dec 1.
Niu Jing, director-general of the Hengqin New Area’s administrative committee, listed the various projects, including a couple of new roads and tunnels, two wharfs for ferrying to and from downtown Zhuhai and other neighboring cities.
Other projects include the construction of two helicopter pads and six parking lots big enough to hold 17,100 vehicles in total.
The organizers have prepared facilities in the new area for catering, accommodations and medical aid as well as a mobile information platform, Niu said.
“Our work is expected to make it convenient for tourists to enjoy the fun of the international circus event and to get ready for the trial operation of the mega Chimelong ocean resort project later this year,” Niu said.
Funded by Guangdong Chimelong Group, one of China’s largest theme park companies, the Zhuhai Chimelong International Ocean Resort involves an investment of more than 20 billion yuan ($3.28 billion) at the initial stage.
The resort consists of a circus city, oceanic theme parks, a luxury hotel, a business convention center, a shopping mall and a recreation center.
“Hengqin in return pins its hopes on the circus festival and the opening of many other facilities of the gigantic Chimelong project to help turn the travel and leisure sector into one of the handful of industrial pillars the new area is positioned to develop,” he noted.
Approved by the State Council in 2011, the Hengqin New Area became a special zone of the Zhuhai special economic zone, allowing for even more favorable policies than a special economic zone.
Hengqin is strategically located to act as a point of access for closer cooperation among Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao, focusing on the sectors of business service, financial service, cultural innovation, traditional Chinese medicine and healthcare, education and scientific and technological R&D, as well as new and high technology besides travel and leisure industry.
As the Chimelong project for the area’s travel and leisure industry, the official said, each of the targeted pillar sectors has major projects to back.
Official statistics indicate that a total of 61 key projects involving aggregate investments of 240 billion yuan are under construction, and contracts have been signed for eight companies, including China Resources Power and China Railway Construction Corp, to locate their regional headquarters in Hengqin.
And negotiations have been concluded for 12 massive projects to be funded by Hong Kong or Macao businesspeople, with total invested capital set to surpass 57.1 billion yuan.
The new area had 83 registered firms funded either by Hong Kong or Macao investors as of late September. Projects from the two special administrative regions accounted for more than 90 percent of local projects with overseas investments, and their registered capital added up to 5.64 billion yuan.
The official said that the new area will hopefully see an even faster development when construction is completed on the extension of the Guangzhou-Zhuhai intercity light railway and the Hong Kong-ZhuhaiMacao bridge in 2016.