NETDA woos major projects, sparking growth hopes

The Nantong Economic & Technological Development Area or NETDA – located in Nantong city in East China's Jiangsu province – has pledged to attract billion yuan-level major projects and has set itself the target of being ranked among the top development areas in China.

With a total investment of 10 billion yuan ($1.54 billion), a slew of major projects recently settled down in the NETDA, including a battery diaphragm R&D and manufacturing project and macromolecular innovative drug production project.

During the current year, the NETDA is said to have taken the lead in its development as a first-class economic development zone in the Yangtze River Delta region with high-end industrial modernization, sound industry-city integration and internationalization.

As such, it is said to have striven to establish a new stage in the region's economic development boom.

In the first quarter, 14 major projects signed up to move to the zone, including eight advanced manufacturing projects, with a total investment of 15 billion yuan.

By the end of March, a group of 31 major projects had broken ground with a total investment of 57.8 billion yuan. In late April, nine major projects participated in a second quarter joint launch ceremony, with a total investment of 22 billion yuan.