Revitalized industrial area invites investors, talent to complete transformation
Editor's note:
Shanghai, a well-established destination for investment from home and abroad, is confident in riding the waves of a rising city to attract more quality investment with better policies and services.
Officials and investors learn more about Baoshan's redevelopment plan on the sidelines of a global promotion event on Friday.
Shanghai's erstwhile iron-steel industry base is being transformed into the "main front" of the city's global scientific innovation center as well as a pilot zone for quality life and low-carbon development.
Northern Baoshan District has released its latest action plan for a new round of redevelopment, aiming to fulfill the city's ambition to become a science and innovation center with global influence.
"The city's northern industrial base is striving to become a key part of Shanghai's south-north development axis, along with five 'new cities' on the outskirts," said Baoshan Party Secretary Chen Jie.
He issued an invitation to investors and professionals from across the world at the Global Promotion Conference for Baoshan's Transformation and Development.
Officials from the consulates general of Bulgaria, Uruguay, Ecuador, Peru, Singapore, the Philippines and Italy in Shanghai attended the event through video conference due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
"Here you can embrace innovation dynamism, acquire the best industrial space, receive optimized business services and enjoy a quality life," the top district official promised at the event.
The promotional event was held on Friday at China Baowu Steel Conference and Convention Center, renovated from what was the tallest iron-steel boiler in Shanghai.
The site, a demonstration of the new wave of transformation, was once home to the city's earliest iron-steel plants – the No. 1 Shanghai Steel Factory – and later became the core production base of the Baosteel industrial conglomerate.
Chairman Mao Zedong and former leaders Deng Xiaoping and Jiang Zemin had visited the site.
According to the redevelopment blueprint, through 2025 Baoshan will create two new digital and innovation cities from former industrial sites that had pollution issues, along with three ecological and resort zones.
"The district government has pledged to spend 1 billion yuan (US$148 million) every year from its fiscal revenues to subsidize the development of companies in Baoshan," said Gao Yiyi, director of the district.
The Wusong area, known as the cradle of China's modern industrial base, is being transformed into Wusong Smart City, a subcenter with new material and hardware industries, scientific and cultural innovation parks, commerce and business facilities, residential communities and waterfront attractions.
The China Baowu Steel Conference and Convention Center has been repurposed from what was the tallest iron-steel boiler in Shanghai.
The area was home to the renowned Baosteel Group and more than 300 other metal refineries and chemical engineering plants dating back to the 1930s. Most of the factories have shut down or been relocated due to pollution problems.
Nanda Smart City, covering 6.3 square kilometers, is rising from the former Nanda Industrial Site, notorious for its soil and air pollution.
The future digital city will feature parks, waterways and transit-oriented-development (TOD) projects, along with sprawling underground spaces for Metro stations and commercial facilities. The digital city will also become a pilot project for the city's digital transformation, with many smart applications being initially tested in the area.
Another key project, the Huanshangda, or Shanghai University-Rim Industrial Park, has officially opened in Lingang Innovation Galaxy Scientific Oasis in Dachang Town. It covers 57 square kilometers and features Dachang, Baoshan Urban Industry Park and Nanda Smart City.
The park is centered around transforming scientific research, incubating science-based startups and cultivating professionals in cooperation with the university.
Meanwhile, construction will begin by the end of 2022 on Baoshan Railway Station. It will become the departure terminus for the north high-speed railway along the Yangtze River and a new transport hub for the integrated development of the Yangtze River Delta region.
In the easternmost part of the city, the Shanghai International Cruise Liner Resort will become another international tourist center on par with Shanghai International Resort in the Pudong New Area, with Shanghai Disney Resort at its core.
Apart from cruise liners, it will feature water sports and riverside travel to support Shanghai's ambition to become a world-famous tourism city, according to the district government.
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An artistic rendition of Nanda Digital City
Ti Gong -
An aerial view of the Baosteel factory buildings in Baoshan District, which is being redeveloped into Wusong Smart City.
Ti Gong -
A striking architecture is planned for the Nanda Digital City.
Ti Gong
