Zhabei makes moves to become transport hub

Historically an industrial district in central Shanghai, Zhabei aims to become the transportation and business center of the metropolis by 2010 through boosting its transportation and modern service sectors.

The district is expected to generate 20 billion yuan in revenue by 2010 while its economy is projected to grow 12 percent annually, according to the district's 11th Five-Year Plan (2006-10) for economic and social development.

"Zhabei, where the Shanghai Railway Station is located, has always been regarded as the gateway of the city, offering it a unique advantage in transportation links to the Yangtze River Delta and further on to the whole nation," said Yao Haitong, Party secretary of the district.

According to the plan, transportation, related commerce and logistics, real estate and the services are key sectors for development. Their combined revenue will account for over 80 percent of the district's total by 2010.

Two prime parcels of land in the district, believed to be among the few remaining plots available in urban Shanghai, will be auctioned in the middle of June.

Several leading domestic and overseas real estate developers have expressed keen interest in the parcels, which will be developed to form a premier business, tourism and cultural area, said sources from Shanghai Zhabei Foreign Economic Relations Commission.

With a population of 800,000, the district hopes such projects will create more jobs and boost its residents' annual income. By the end of 2010, the district's unemployment rate is expected to be below 4.5 percent, according to the five-year plan, with fewer than 20,000 people without jobs.

Zhabei aims to create 22,000 new jobs annually by 2010, when average annual income will reach more than 34,000 yuan, according to the blueprint.

Yao said the district is also accelerating the pace of industrial restructuring by placing more emphasis on development of the outsourcing sector.

In 2006, Shanghai was named a national base for service outsourcing by three central government ministries, offering Zhabei a golden opportunity to develop the outsourcing sector, said Yao.

The district is currently home to global companies including Philips from Holland and TUV Rheinland from Germany. Philips' China business generated revenues of $27.88 million in 2006 from outsourcing research and development, according to figures of the Shanghai Zhabei Foreign Economic Relations Commission.

By the end of 2006 the district government had approved 850 enterprises that made a combined $2.325 billion in direct foreign investment .

(China Daily 05/08/2008 page18)