The opening of the Integrated Circuit Components Industry Park is said to be an initiative that will galvanize the development of Tongzhou's integrated circuits sector. [Photo/Nantong Daily]

The Tongzhou district of Nantong city – located in East China's Jiangsu province – has devoted significant effort to attract investment in recent years and as a result, it is widely said to have achieved major progress in developing both its leading and emerging industries.

On Jan 26, the operator of a planned electronic components manufacturing project costing some 10 billion yuan ($1.58 billion) signed up to settle in the Nantong National High-tech Industrial Development Zone in Tongzhou.

The project is being funded by Gul Technologies Group, which is a major player in the global printed circuits board, or PCB market. The first phase will cover 20.8 hectares of land and after completion and ramping up to design capacity, it will generate an estimated annual output value of 5 billion yuan.

This is expected to greatly improve the competitiveness of Tongzhou's new-generation information technology sector.

Tongzhou district has focused on building a "3+2" industry system – with new-generation information technology, automobiles and components and intelligent equipment as its leading industries, backed up by home textiles and architecture as its traditional industries.

It is understood that over 80 percent of industrial projects launched there in the past three years belong to the three leading sectors.

In October 2020, the unveiling took place of the Integrated Circuit Components Industry Park, jointly developed by the National Integrated Circuit Components Innovation Alliance and the Nantong National High-tech Industrial Development Zone.

This complex is widely said to have subsequently attracted a raft of industry leaders to settle there and provided impetus to the integrated circuits sector in Tongzhou.