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Rudong county in Nantong city – located in East China's Jiangsu province – reportedly saw a major boost to its economy in the first quarter of this year.

The period witnessed the start of construction of 32 new projects in new materials, new energy, intelligent equipment manufacturing, life and health, as well as semiconductors – together with the signing of 31 industrial projects.

The Yangkou Port Economic Development Zone is widely viewed as one of the county's main drivers for economic development. A carbon fiber composite materials project with a total investment of 20 billion yuan ($3.01 billion) on March 31 signed up to settle there.

The signing of the project was reportedly the result of the outstanding services provided by the zone's committee to the project's investors.

Besides inland industries, the development zone is also focusing on its goal of becoming a national green energy demonstration area, with the development of the PetroChina Jiangsu LNG terminal on Yangguang Island.

On April 7, the LNG terminal welcomed the BW Pavilion Aranthera, the 24th LNG carrier to dock there this year. The ship unloaded 168,000 cubic meters of liquefied natural gas, which will be continuously transported to the Yangtze River Delta after being gasified onshore.

At present, Yangguang Island has an annual LNG turnover capacity of 6.5 million tons, satisfying more than one third of the province's gas demand.

The green energy industry is still expanding on the island. Construction of three new 200,000 cu m LNG storage tanks and support facilities and equipment, with a projected annual handling of 2.95 million tons, is underway and is expected to be completed in September 2023.

The Yellow Sea Bridge, with a total length of 12.6 kilometers and a total cost of 1 billion yuan, which opened to traffic in 2008, has seen the development of a key maritime logistics channel for Yangkou Port. But it reportedly cannot meet the needs of the rapid growth of Yangguang Island's LNG operations in recent years.

To that end, the Yellow Sea Second Bridge began construction in 2019. Port officials said that after its completion, the carrying capacity of tankers and the support capacity for industrial projects in the Yangkou Port area will be greatly enhanced.