Management

Gaoyao Special: Gaoyao looks to grow with investment, urbanization

By Zhan Ji (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-09-27 07:54

Fan Ruxiong (second left), Party secretary of Gaoyao, and Liang Jing (third left), the city's mayor, visit a local enterprise.

Government leaders of Gaoyao in Guangdong province plan to accelerate the city's urbanization while improving infrastructure to grow into a preferred destination for businesspeople and attractive place to live for the local population, according to a local official.

To enhance development, city authorities are seeking investment in facilities to produce ironware, precision die-cast products, new types of building materials and stainless steel, particularly massive projects of over 1 to 2 billion yuan, said Fan Ruxiong, Party secretary of Gaoyao.

A mountainous county-level city in the middle of south China's Guangdong province, Gaoyao is about 100 kilometers from the provincial capital Guangzhou.

The province's "double transfer" program will make it easier for Gaoyao to attract technology-intensive and environmentally friendly projects as well as other facilities that will generate high tax revenues, he said.

The so-called "double transfer" program initiated in 2008 by provincial authorities is a plan to relocate labor-intensive industries in the highly developed Pearl River Delta region elsewhere across the province and then employ formerly rural labor in new industries.

The city is now aiming for 20 billion yuan in GDP and 1.3 billion in fiscal revenue this year, according to the official.

"We will improve the planning of development zones for manufacturing, special agriculture, natural resources and ecological tourism, and optimize the industrial structure to improve our regional competitiveness," he said.

"We are determined to keep the development and operation of projects already secured right on track and as scheduled."

To aid the city's move to modernization, recent improvements in infrastructure include a 200 million yuan electricity grid and 89.6 million yuan water supply system.

The Gaoyao government also plans to accelerate construction of 18 road projects costing 2.47 billion yuan this year.

Fan said the city will speed up development of its tilapia fisheries and river shrimp aquaculture while improving agricultural and rural infrastructure.

Improvement of cultural facilities and related industries are also on the agenda.

"Today Gaoyao has grown into a dynamic city, titled a top 200 alluring city, top 20 small and medium city with greatest investment potential, and top 100 regionally influential small and medium city in China - our endeavors aim at a brighter future," he noted.

Gaoyao took in 1.08 billion yuan in fiscal revenue in 2009, ranking it the first among the province's 50 counties or county-level cities in the mountainous regions.

The city's GDP from January-July reached 10.11 billion yuan, an increase of 17.6 percent from a year ago; the value of its industrial output was 20.27 billion yuan, up 34.9 percent, according to official statistics.

And its fiscal revenue totaled 809 million yuan from January-August, up 28.6 percent.