Island seeks spot in the sun
Mammoth port: Changxing Island, 130 km north of downtown Dalian, is set to take the province's economy to new heights. |
A dozen or so kilometers inland, on the southern side of the island, industrial parks dot the landscape, constructing ships and churning out parts, steel products, and petrochemicals to name just a few. The biggest shipbuilding and ocean engineering manufacturing base in the country is clustered with international names. Together, they generate revenues of up to $18 billion every year.
To the south, connected by several bridges, are a number of smaller islands that provide support services to the shipping and manufacturing nucleus on the main island. Administratively, they have been part of the main island for the past 10 years.
On the north side of the island are low-rise residential buildings that house most of the 1 million population of the island. Farther north along the coast is a beach that extends 15 kilometers, along which locals and vacationers relax and enjoy life in the summer. There is still a hint of the island's seafaring past, evident in the seafood restaurants and family hostels that offer an authentic island experience. Tucked in the woods along stretches of it are villas fit for tycoons of the world.
This is Changxing Island, the fifth largest island in China, after Taiwan, Hainan, Zhoushan in Zhejiang and Chongming in Shanghai. It is the largest island north of the Yangtze River.
The description is not the present but instead a vision for the future, when 10 years from now the island alone will produce half of the wealth of the city of Dalian, which was ranked the 17th most competitive among the 200 Chinese cities last year by the Chinese Academy of Social sciences.
The Changxing authorities declined to compare the island's rise with that of Singapore, though they made it clear they hoped to emulate this Asian tiger in the future.
A new face each day
Right now, it is a mammoth construction site, where huge expanses of shallow water are being filled with earth and rocks from a nearby hill. The first phase of several berths are being built, and investors are wooed with a blueprint of audacity and hope that fills everyone with dreams.
Wang Kun, 38, is one of the dreamers. After working in Changxing for half a year, he recently decided to move his whole family from Mohe, Heilongjiang Province, way up in the northeast. He bought a second-hand motor tricycle and started a small business in transportation. "The money is good, and it keeps rising," he said before disclosing that his monthly income is around 2,000 yuan (US$ 256), a decent sum for a farmer-turned-entrepreneur from the northeast.
There have been 10,000 new arrivals like Wang, joining the 40,000 inhabitants who have lived here for generations. Wang Yijia, a 72-year-old local, has seen it all. Before the 500-meter-span bridge to the mainland was built in 2005, there were no automobiles on the island, only a few trucks and tractors, he recalled.
While outsiders pour in to "dig for gold", locals have already enjoyed their first taste of wealth, leveraging their land and local expertise for a better life. Villagers whose land is slated for development are properly compensated, moving to brand new apartment blocks and opening small businesses that cater to the construction workers.
Former farmer Zhang Wenxia said she was happy to be able to lead the life of an urbanite, enjoying access to tap water and gas and working in a local market after moving into an apartment building last year.
The 35-year-old mother of two said: "My children are attending school and they will probably be able to find better jobs without leaving the island, as high-tech factories are mushrooming here on the island. "
The bulk of the million new residents of Changxing Island will not be people like Wang Kun or Zhang Wenxia, but skilled workers and engineers like Fan Hui. Fan graduated from Canada's Queen's University with a Ph.D. in economics and is now working for the Trade Development Bureau of the island's Harbor Industrial Zone.
"There are so many new opportunities here as it is built up and big-name corporations from home and abroad swarm here to set up shop. You have a sense of history being made right in front of your eyes, and you want to be part of it. The place is a gold mine waiting to be exploited," he enthused.
Fan said that changes are coming with such speed and power one can feel a little dizzy. "I leave for a week, and there may be a new building, a new road or even a new port when I come back."
An emerging SingaporePart of Fan's job is to explain to potential investors the unique strengths and prospects of the island.
"Our dream is to build another Singapore on this island," he said.
That is probably the easiest-to-understand analogy. Not only will the island, with 404 sq km including landfill and the administratively annexed smaller islands (authorities say the area will likely expand further to cater to development needs in the years ahead), be comparable in size to the Southeast Asian nation, but it is designed by Singapore Jurong International.
"We encourage senior professionals from Singapore to join our administrative committee and share their advanced knowledge with us," said Yi Qingtao, deputy director of the development organization.
"What we need most now is not only investment, but professionals who are familiar with international practices. We want to work with them and draw from their experiences in daily work," he explained. Over 30 local officials have received special training in Singapore for urban planning and infrastructure construction.
Island as a driving force
Changxing Island is 130 km north of downtown Dalian, but is an administrative part of the city. The existing port on the southern tip of the peninsula is nearing capacity, and as expansion is difficult it will be converted for cruise liners. The new port on the island, or rather, the island itself, will be a launching pad to take the economy of the province to new heights.
"We will optimize our investment mix to make Changxing Island one of the pivotal points in developing the Bohai Bay economic zone," said Yi.
A 50,000-tonnage berth and two 70,000-tonnage berths, slated to be completed by the end of this year, are just the tip of the iceberg of what will be the economic juggernaut.
Another project, the Dalian Marine Equipment Park, is taking shape. The first-phase infrastructure construction covers 1 sq km and is nearing completion. It will be home to the world's big names of marine equipment designers and makers.
"We have signed deals with 17 domestic and foreign companies for the first phase of the project, and 14 companies from South Korea, Japan, and Europe are in the pipeline for the second phase scheduled for next year," said Jing Wengang, an engineering executive at the park.
Upon operation of the 17 companies of the first-phase project, the park is expected to turn out profits of at least 1 billion yuan ($132 million) a year, Jing said.
In addition to the park, investment for projects other than infrastructure is already pouring into the island, with 31 projects registering $1.15 billion earmarked for the Harbor Industrial Zone.
The planners hope that when Changxing Island is fully built up, it will be an economic dynamo that rivals the economic boomtowns in the Pearl River Delta and the Yangtze River Delta. That will make Wang Kun, the new arrival, and Wang Yijia, the local farmer, and a million others happily employed and with bigger earning power. The benefits will ripple throughout the whole province and even the whole Northeastern region.
The "Five Points Along One Line" strategy, designed to take advantage of Liaoning's abundant coastal resources and manufacturing industries, will power the province's sustained growth. |
(China Daily 06/28/2007 page26)
