Build it and they will come from everywhere and prosper Dalian Intel Chip Project
Intel, the world-famous PC chip manufacturer began construction of its first production facility in Asia in Dalian on March 26.
As well as pumping almost 100 billion yuan ($13.25 billion) into the city's upper and lower chain service fields, the plant is another milestone on Dalian's path to becoming a hi-tech city.
Intel also spent 350 million yuan on a semiconductor institute in the city to train advanced technicians.
With a total investment of $2.5 billion in the first phase, the plant will have a production capacity of 52,000 IC chips valued at 20 billion yuan per year. Manufacturing is expected to begin in the first half of 2010.
STX Shipbuilding Project and COSCO Shipbuilding Project
STX Group, based in the Republic of Korea, has signed a package of investment contracts worth $900 million with Dalian.
The package includes a general investment agreement, an agreement on hull-block construction, and a shipbuilding agreement.
STX Group has agreed to build an industrial base in the Changxing Island Harbor Industry Zone of Dalian, one of five key investment destinations in Liaoning.
The local government has also signed a contract with China Ocean Shipping Co (COSCO) to build a 2 million deadweight tons ship project.
Covering 2.08 million sq m and situated in Bohai Bay, Changxing Island has rich coastline resources, which provide huge potential for harbor industries. It is expected to become the country's largest shipbuilding base.
Volkswagen Engine Project and DEUTZ Engine Project
The 300,000-Volkswagen car engine-project, jointly funded by First Auto Works of China and Volkswagen of Germany, has been put into operation in Dalian.
The 200-million euro ($273 million) project is in the Dalian Economic and Technological Development Zone.
Its products include state-of-the-art 1.8-l and 2.0-l engines mostly for use in the construction of FAW and Volkswagen autos, with some going for export.
A 300,000 Volkswagen gearbox project is also expected to be launched later this year.
China FAW Group, the country's leading auto-maker, has solely funded the 1.3 billion yuan DEUTZ engine project producing diesel engine for middle-sized trucks using German technology.
Construction of the project started in June 2004 and concluded in late 2006. Its current capacity is 20,000 engines per year, with this expected to grow to 50,000 units, valued at 1.5 billion yuan, in the future.
Italy's Same Deutz-Fahr tractor project
Italian firm Same Deutz-Fahr (SDF) is one of the world's leading manufacturers of agricultural machinery. The 45-million euro plant in Dalian is expected to manufacture up to 6,000 tractors per year for the Chinese and international markets by 2009.
Its production capacity could be increased to up to 12,000 units per year with additional investment by 2013.
The plant's operation will create up to 500 jobs in five years and an additional 3,000 jobs in allied industries.
SDF said they chose Dalian as the site for the plant because the city offers a number of logistical advantages.
Over the next few years, China will become the world's most important tractor market. The profit from China's agricultural machinery industry has grown more than 50 percent year on year, according to the China International Agricultural Machinery Industry Association.
Liaoning Hongyan River Nuclear Power Plant
Construction has begun on the Hongyan River in Northeastern China's Liaoning Province. The plant, which will be the first to be built in the northeast, uses homemade CPR1000 reactor technology and will consist of four 1,000-megawatt units once completed. Total investment is expected to reach 60 billion yuan. The project has accumulated investment of 900 million yuan so far.
Zhuanghe Power Plant (Phase I)
The 5.3-billion yuan project is designed to build two sets of 600,000 coal-burning gas turbine power generators. The first set has been built and the construction of the second is expected to begin later this year.
The project has an accumulated investment of 3.3 billion yuan so far.
(China Daily 09/07/2007 page40)
