A construction site in Qidong, Nantong. [Photo/Nantong Daily]

In the first half of 2024, Qidong, a bustling city in Natong made significant strides in industrial development. The city secured 61 new industrial projects, each with investments of over 100 million yuan ($13.97 million). Among these, 39 projects have an investment surpassing 500 million yuan or $30 million. Foreign direct investment in the city increased by 109.5 percent year-on-year to $97.79 million.

Qidong has strategically focused on key industries such as marine engineering, heavy equipment, life sciences, new energy, new materials, port-related industries, and semiconductor electronics. To bolster these industries, the city has organized 47 promotional events and industrial exchange meetings in major cities like Shanghai, Suzhou, and Beijing, in the first half of the year.

The Lyusi Port Economic Development Zone is home to the SET (Qidong) Heavy Machinery's production base, which is one of the major projects currently underway. This project, which has a total planned investment of 2 billion yuan and covers 13.67 hectares, is expected to generate 1.5 billion yuan in taxable sales annually.

On Aug 1, an agreement for Wison's intelligent maritime engineering manufacturing base, with a total investment of 9 billion yuan was signed. This project, which will be built in two phases, is expected to generate an annual output value of 20 billion yuan once fully operational. "It took just 41 days from initial contact to agreement signing, making it the fastest project of all within the group," said Liu Hongjun, chairman of Wison Clean Energy Technology Group.

Qidong hopes to attract a total of 100 projects each with investments over 100 million yuan by the end of the year. The city also plans to ensure the start of 100 manufacturing projects, each with equipment investments exceeding 20 million yuan, and the completion of 100 manufacturing projects with equipment investments over 8 million yuan each.