Yingkou rides high tide of reform

Yingkou, a port city in Liaoning province, is riding a high tide of economic reform and opening up.

In spring 2006, Liaoning (Yingkou) Coastal Industrial Base was born. The province made it one of "five keys in a single line".

Yingkou has made wide efforts to turn itself into a leading industrial base.

The industrial base has been courting new and hi-tech industries, including refining chemicals, equipment manufacturing, new materials, bio-engineering, and electronic information.

By January, 107 million yuan has been injected in infrastructure in the region for roads, and supply of water, heat and power.

To date, construction has started on 12 projects with a total investment of 14.25 billion yuan.

The growth of Yingkou has gained support from top leadership. On August 26, 2005, then Party chief of Liaoning province Li Keqiang led a study group to the port, then returned the next year and decided to make it one of the five key areas for development.

In February last year Wu Bangguo, chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, toured the first phase of construction and urged Yingkou to optimize its industrial structure and explore new fields along the coastline.

The base includes a 2.5-sq-km lake and an ecological park. To simplify procedures and administration, local government departments have cut the approval checklist from 1,573 to 241 items.

A special management committee has been set up for the Yingkou Coastal Industrial Base that offers one-station service for incoming projects.

And Yingkou port is growing. On October 8, 2007, as the container vessel New Weihai left its berth, Yingkou marked cargo turnover of 100 million tons to join the ranks of top 10 ports in the country.

As the major outlet for the coastal belt, Yingkou has transport links with 140 ports in more than 50 countries and regions.

During the 11th five-year plan, Yingkou plans to invest 14 billion yuan in building five container berths, five steel berths, and an oil berth, while deepening water channels.

Port Chairman Gao Baoyu said the port will provide facilities for large enterprises in central Liaoning.

(China Daily 09/20/2008 page10)