A citywide project development observation tour was held in Rugao on Aug 12, highlighting the city's efforts to translate emerging industrial strengths into tangible production capacity.

In the Rugao Economic and Technological Development Zone, construction of Sieyuan Electric's new high-voltage equipment base began in June. The 2-billion-yuan ($297 million) project underwent land handover, design review and bidding procedures without encountering any delay.

Once in full operation, the base is expected to produce an annual output of tens of thousands of high-voltage switchgear units and more than 1,000 sets of electrical apparatus, generating an estimated 4 billion yuan in sales.

The observation tour also showcased a number of projects in new materials, new energy and advanced equipment manufacturing.

Among them, the 500-million-yuan wind power main shaft and component project by Hongmao Heavy Industrial is upgrading existing facilities with intelligent production lines. The company has established a complete local production chain covering special steel smelting, forging, casting and precision machining.

According to project manager Xu Xiaohui, the project is designed to produce 30,000 metric tons of wind power main shafts and components each year.

An AI-powered visual sorting equipment project in Rugao High-Tech Industrial Development Zone was another highlight of the tour. A research Institute, established by Linda Intelligent Manufacturing Technology and Nanjing Forestry University, focuses on technologies including nondestructive inspection and sorting, as well as 3D vision recognition.

"Our products and projects serve fields including machinery manufacturing, aerospace and power equipment, providing high-standard quality control technologies and intelligent equipment," said Shi Chuanming, a company representative.