Daqing High-tech Zone:Hope of a Rust Belt's Resurrection

By XU YING

    AS an old industrial base, Heilongjiang Province is now prudently restructuring its economy in an effort to regain its long lost luster. Its cities of Harbin, Daqing and Qiqihar are assembling as an engine for growth. And Daqing High-tech Industrial Development Zone (HIDZ), situated at the heart of this tri-city area known as the Ha-Da-Qi Industry Corridor, is expected to give a crucial spark of new life to this rust belt.

    The HIDZ was built in 1992 on Daqing's outskirts as a provident project to ensure civic sustainable development. It was the nation's only national industrial zone that focused on the petroleum and petrochemical industries. Over the past 20 years, Daqing HIDZ has expanded to include three chemical industrial parks and one provincial industrial and economic zone.

    In 2010 its total output value stood at RMB 32.8 billion, and its industrial added value reached RMB 26.1 billion, making up 45 percent of the city's total industry base. Daqing HIDZ has become a driving force for the region's economic restructuring and changes in the mode of economic growth.

    Stepping into the new decade, Daqing HIDZ bursts forth with new vigor and confidence. According to its development outline for the 12th Five-year Plan period, Daqing HIDZ aims to become a center for innovative business and technology-intensive industries with distinct features that will inspire and galvanize the development of the Ha-Da-Qi Industry Corridor and neighboring areas.

    The industrial zone gives priority to the petrochemical industry, automobile manufacturing and new materials, and also promotes equipment manufacturing, the service industry, and emerging industries. Businesses involved in these sectors will be mainly accommodated in the zone's City of New Industries (now under construction), and slated to cover 73.99 square kilometers. In addition to advanced infrastructure and the facilities required for industrial production, the district will also provide comfortable housing, convenient public services and a pleasant environment for people working and living there.

    Taking up the challenge of reviving Heilongjiang's economy and steering Daqing's economic transition, Daqing HIDZ is leading the way in innovation and sustainable development. 

Daqing Hi-tech Industrial Development Zone.