A panel of experts from the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) arrived in the Pingtan Comprehensive Pilot Zone (PCPZ) on Aug 26 to investigate its ecological construction.

An UNIDO expert shares his views on Pingtan's ecological construction, Aug 26. [Photo/pingtan.gov.cn]

Pingtan is the first leg of UNIDO's fifth inspection trip through Southeast Asia that is tasked with nominating five eco-cities. The other four candidates are Kota Iskandar in Malaysia, Map Ta Phut in Thailand, Cebu in the Philippines and Vietnam's Da Nang.

The experts will stay for around four days and will mainly focus on Pingtan's construction of its countryside ecological system, green economy, eco-tourism as well as afforestation.

Being named one of the eco-city candidates in SE Asia by UNIDO is of significance and a big encouragement to Pingtan, according to Zhou Qingsong, deputy director of PCPZ's administrative committee.

Pingtan aims to build itself into an international eco-city. To accomplish that, it has been making efforts in a number of fields including ecological construction, and industrial development as well as urban management, in a bid to make it more of a desirable destination, he said, adding that Pingtan will value the assessment and suggestions by UNIDO.

Pingtan's competitiveness

Pingtan is the only Chinese city being nominated by UNIDO as an eco-city candidate due to several reasons, according to Wang Heyang with UNIDO's Fujian office.

"First, as a comprehensive pilot zone opening up to Taiwan, Pingtan is a desirable place to spearhead new policies. What's more, Pingtan has attracted attention from people in all circles from home and abroad and has won endorsement from both provincial and central government. It is a perfect fit for building into an eco-city."

The assessment of Pingtan's ecological conditions covers many aspects, including treatment of waste water and gas, transportation, natural diversity, use of energy and so on. The five eco-cities are learning from one another's effective experiences in ecological construction; UNIDO will also be instrumental in promoting them, said a project manager of the eco-city assessment.

Background:

The United Nations Industrial Development Organization is a specialized agency in the United Nations system, headquartered in Vienna, Austria. The Organization's primary objective is the promotion and acceleration of industrial development in developing countries and countries with economies in transition, as well as the promotion of international industrial cooperation. It is also a member of the United Nations Development Group.