China Unicom will invest 5 billion yuan ($771 million) to build a cloud computing center in Changsha, making the capital city of Hunan one of its 10 cloud data bases in the country.

The construction of the first phase of the project began last month in Changsha High-tech Zone. The center, once it starts operating in June 2017, is expected to bring even greater visibility to the developing environment of Changsha's mobile Internet industry which would attract more leading enterprises and talents to the area. The center will also provide superior network capacity and information services for many people and it will also serve as a sustainer of Changsha's intelligent manufacturing and mass entrepreneurship and innovation strategies.

According to Liu Wenjian, manager of China Unicom Cloud Data Corporation's Hunan Branch, Changsha itself will develop into a much smarter city through cloud computing. "Local residents will benefit a lot from the integrated information. For instance, we will be able to navigate cars to empty parking spaces in the future using the city's integrated parking data," he said.

Liu also noted that location, transportation and talent advantages are some of the main reasons why China Unicom chose Changsha as its cloud data base.