Employees work at a factory in Jinying (Rugao) Industrial Park. [Photo/Nantong Daily]

Rugao, a county-level city in Nantong, Jiangsu province, held an economic development and project construction promotion conference on Feb 17, setting the tone and priorities for the new year. In the first quarter, Rugao aims to attract 12 domestic projects worth over 500 million yuan ($69.53 million) each and four foreign-funded projects worth over $30 million each.

Such large-scale and high-quality projects serve as powerful drivers for the formation of new productive forces and enhancing development momentum. Within the Jinying (Rugao) Industrial Park, the projects for an annual production capacity of 1 million metric tons of white cardboard and 100,000 tons of Lyocell fiber are currently operating at full capacity to meet orders and expand markets.

Meanwhile, the expansion project of a power plant with a total investment of 1.5 billion yuan and the 1-billion-yuan Jinying Logistics Park are also under construction.

Jiangsu Haitong Offshore Engineering Equipment Co Ltd, a long-established shipyard in Rugao Port, is experiencing robust growth. The company's chairman, Jin Xing, stated that last year, the company's production capacity was fully utilized, and it currently holds orders for 18 vessels totaling 1.21 million deadweight tons. The target for taxable sales in 2024 is set at 1.5 billion yuan, Jin added.