Lingang development powering ahead

The second phase of STARSTREET, Lingang's first community and commercial complex, will open to the public by the end of this year with 29,000 square meters of business area, Zhu Zhisong, executive deputy director of the China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone's Lingang Special Area, told a local CPPCC session on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, the first stage of Harbour City Plaza, another commercial complex in Lingang, has been almost completed and will be put into use at the year end. Its second stage is scheduled to come into use in 2020. The size of the first stage is 180,000 square meters, while the second stage occupies some 57,000 square meters.

With the booming commercial industries in the Lingang Special Area, it now has 21 hotels, including one five-star, and can accommodate more than 3,700 people. There are another eight hotels under construction or planning, which are expected to add about 3,679 beds.

The construction of the S3 Expressway, which will connect downtown areas with Lingang, has started and is set to open in 2021. And the Lingang waterworks project aims to be launched within this year.

For entertainment, the first phase of the Star of Ice indoor ski resort has begun and it is set to open around 2022. The the Shanghai Planetarium has almost completed its curtain walls and is expected to open next year.

About 6 million tourists visit Lingang every year and that is expected to rise to 10 million when the ski resort and planetarium open.