Qidong holds a commencement ceremony for 36 major projects, to break ground in the first quarter of 2021. [Photo/ntfabu.com]

The groundbreaking ceremony for the new Oriental Yuhong (Qidong) industrial base – as well as the commencement ceremony for a slew of major projects to start work within the first quarter – was held on March 3 in the Lyusi Port Economic Development Zone, located in the county-level city of Qidong in East China's Jiangsu province.

Li Ling, Party secretary of Qidong, attended the ceremonies, where apart from the celebration of immediate start of work on the new industrial base, 36 projects were launched with a total investment of up to 21.75 billion yuan ($3.36 billion).

The projects involve a range of key industries, including new materials, equipment manufacturing, medical devices and big data.

Among the projects are 16 industrial projects, six of which are worth more than 1 billion yuan each and five service projects, three of which are worth more than 1 billion yuan each.

It's expected that the commencement of the raft of projects in Q1 will become a powerful new driver for the industrial upgrade and development of Qidong.