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Updated: 2007-05-25 11:22

After more than 10 years of construction, the Changchun Economic and Technological Development Zone is now entering a golden period of development, said Huang Wenhua, director of the administrative committee of the zone, located in Changchun, capital of Northeast China's Jilin Province.

Huang's confidence stems from the zone's impressive performance in the first quarter of the year, when its industrial output value and fiscal revenues reached 13.85 billion yuan and 636 million yuan respectively, increasing 33.8 percent and 39.6 percent year-on-year.

Since last year, a number of large investment projects have begun construction in the zone, including the 2.5-billion-yuan Changchun Hengli Automobile Industrial Park, the $145-million Changchun Fawer-Johnson Controls project, the Valeo air conditioner compressor project and the road project of the Changchun Corn Industrial Park.

Innovative strategy

Huang attributed the zone's brilliant performance to its innovative strategy and excellent services.

Last year, authorities drafted a new development plan based on the belief that the zone's strategic emphasis is to prioritize the development of the three pillar industries of corn-based chemicals, automobile and auto parts, and modern service, support the advantageous food and optical-electronics industries, and boost the development of the pharmaceutical industry.

"At present, the initial stage of the Changchun Corn Industrial Park has been completed," said Sun Hongjian, vice-director of the park's administrative committee.

Major road projects have been completed in the zone and the 20,000-ton corn ethanol project of the Dacheng Group has been put into formal operation. Another 200,000-ton corn ethanol project of the company - one of the key players in the world corn industry - is in trial operation. The group has obtained approval from the State Environmental Protection Administration for the construction of a 1-million-ton corn ethanol project and a 1-million-ton polyester project.

Other projects under construction in the park include the 1-billion-yuan Longchang plant, expected to produce 1 million tons of corn starch per year, as well as facilities for water and heat supply, and sewage treatment.

The Changchun Airport Logistics Park, a major hub of the modern service industry, is now under construction.

After more than 10 years of development, the automobile and auto parts industry has grown to be the most important in the Changchun Economic and Technological Development Zone.

Famous domestic and overseas automakers and auto parts manufacturers, including First Automotive Works (FAW), Toyota, Johnson Controls, Valeo, Fawer, Fuyao and Hengli have established operations in the zone.

At present, two large-scale automobile projects are under construction in the development zone.

The first is the Hengli Automobile Industrial Park, which involves a total investment of 2.5 billion yuan, and is expected to produce 50,000 automobiles and realize an output value of 10.7 billion yuan annually upon completion.

The second is a joint venture between Zhongxing Automotive Corp and the Changling Group. Upon completion, the venture is expected to produce 200,000 pickup trucks and special-purpose vehicles and generate an output value of 13.5 billion yuan annually.

Home to FAW and Volkswagen and Toyota's China operations, Changchun is an important automobile industrial base in China.

"This is the strength and potential that the Changchun Economic and Technological Development Zone can present to investors in this field," said Huang.

Satisfied investors

When speaking about the service offered by the zone's authorities to investors, Huang said he is especially proud of its zero complaint record last year.

"Investors' satisfaction is the most important criteria to assess the performance of our government and staff," he added.

He said the zone's administrative committee has recently established a work team to track services offered to investors. The team is composed of senior officials of the administrative committee, with each official taking care of at least eight large projects.

"When any investment-related problem arises, the team member will be the first to shoulder the responsibility," said Huang.

He expressed confidence in the future of the development zone, due to its excellent performance so far.

He predicts that the zone's industrial output value will reach 55.6 billion yuan by the end of this year, increasing 25 percent year-on-year. Foreign and domestic investments are projected to reach $690 million and 4.9 billion yuan, both growing 30 percent from last year.