Songjiang's development full steam ahead

The development of Songjiang New City is on the fast track, with the district government today unveiling a blueprint to accelerate its social and economic development between 2021 and 2025. 

The New City aims to have 950,000 permanent residents by 2025 and 1.1 million by 2035.

Its Gross Regional Product is forecast to be between 260 billion yuan (US$40 billion) and 300 billion yuan by 2025 and between 500 billion and 600 billion yuan by 2035.

"The New City will be developed into a city with science and innovation strength, a transportation hub, a digital and smart city, a city with a blend of profound history and modern civilization and an ecological city featuring the harmonious co-existence of human and nature," Cheng Xiangmin, Songjiang's Party secretary, told a press conference. 

Fifty-four projects with a total investment of more than 180 billion yuan are on this year's agenda, and projects worth more than 70 billion yuan have already been signed this year, the district government announced. 

Construction on the first phase of the Tencent Yangtze River Delta AI Supercomputing Center's main structure is scheduled to be completed in August, and construction of the second and third phases of the G60 Brain Intelligence S&T Innovation Base is in full swing with its first phase already in operation. 

The G60 High-tech Corridor, a new landmark in Songjiang, is up and running, part of the Shanghai Lingang Songjiang Science and Technology City, listed as China's industrial Internet demonstration zone.

The corridor is an urban-rural development axis that connects Songjiang with eight cities in the Yangtze River Delta – Jiaxing, Hangzhou, Jinhua and Huzhou in Zhejiang Province, Suzhou in Jiangsu Province and Xuancheng, Wuhu and Hefei in Anhui Province.

It will be the longest urban industry corridor in the world when its second phase is completed, said Cheng. 

Construction of Metro Line12's west extension to the district will start within the year, and the west extension of Line 23 is also on the agenda to better connect Songjiang with downtown districts and Shanghai's other New Cities, according to Cheng. 

The goal is to enable people to travel via public transportation from Songjiang to downtown Shanghai and other New Cities within 45 minutes, according to the district government. 

Construction of a high-speed railway connecting Shanghai, Suzhou and Huzhou, is proceeding smoothly, the district government said. 

Trains reaching speeds of up to 350 kilometers per hour will travel along the 163.8-kilometer line and pass through seven stations – Shanghai Hongqiao, Songjiang South, Fenhu, Shengze, Nanxun, Huzhou East and Huzhou.

The New City will bring in more good education and public health resources over the next five years, including 48 newly built or expanded schools, and the introduction of Shuguang Hospital's Songjiang branch and Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine's Songjiang Research Institute. 

By 2025, senior care facilities in the New City will amount to 40 square meters per 1,000 permanent residents, and beds at senior homes will satisfy the demand of 4 percent of the senior population with Shanghai residency in Songjiang.

At least one sports park or sports center will be built in the New City in the next five years. 

Songjiang will be developed into a park city, with per-capita green space reaching 13.2 square meters and forest coverage 19.5 percent by 2025.

"In the Songjiang New City, the digital transformation will be accelerated to empower its development, and an industry digitalization trial will be conducted," said Cheng. 

A digital economy innovation industry cluster integrating industry, academia and research will also be established. 

Shanghai unveiled its plan to develop five new cities in Jiading, Qingpu, Songjiang, Fengxian and Nanhui in late January, as part of the city government's effort to seek new engines for future economic and social growth.

Under an earlier blueprint, the five differently positioned new cities will be developed into modern, ecologically friendly, convenient and vibrant places, where urban life and industrial development are well integrated. By 2025, they are projected to have a total of 3.6 million permanent residents, with each city expanding to around 1 million by 2035.