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Construction of Tongkun Group's new polyester base in the Yangkou Port Economic Development Zone is now racing ahead. [Photo/ntfabu.com]

A major new polyester manufacturing base being built by Chinese manufacturer Tongkun Group Co Ltd, which started construction six months ago in the Yangkou Port Economic Development Zone in Rudong county – located in Nantong city in East China's Jiangsu province – is reportedly making huge progress.

The integrated production base, comprising a series of plants and support facilities, has now completed 80 percent of the first-phase of the investment, local media reported on April 28.

Tongkun Group vice-president Sheng Fuqiang praised the municipal government's support of the project, saying it had made a big difference to the pace of the build-out.

"The government's extremely efficient services give us confidence for trial production within the year," he said.

Headquartered in Tongxiang city, in East China's Zhejiang province, Tongkun Group is the largest producer of polyester filament yarn in the world.

The group invested over 20 billion yuan ($3.09 billion) in the first phase of the project in the Yangkou Port Economic Development Zone. It includes several plants which are expected to produce 5 million tons of PTA per annum and 2.4 million tons of functional fiber yearly after completion.

Rudong county government and the management committee of the development zone have set up special service groups to help deal with all the difficulties met in the construction process.

"Most of the devices used in the project are large equipment, which is inconvenient for long-distance land transportation," Shen said.

"The management committee of the development zone helped us built a temporary working dock at the river, 1.5 kilometers away from the construction site," he added.

According to Shen, Tongkun Group will set up a global industry-leading scientific research platform in Nantong in the future.