Go-west project dusts itself off in arid plateau

However, unlike Pudong in Shanghai, which concentrates on the financial industry, and Binhai in Tianjin, which takes advantage of being the world's fourth largest port by throughput, Lanzhou New Zone lacks a natural selling point.

According to the plan, the New Zone is luring enterprises from virtually every industry. Companies in petrochemical, equipment manufacturing, new energy, information technology and biological medicines were all welcomed by the local government.

It is too early to think about profits for most of the companies that have already bought into or intend to settle in the New Zone. They have to build up their own businesses first.

The road is ready and business is on the horizon. The Lanzhou New Zone project is aimed at propping up the economy for the comparatively less-developed western regions - not only Gansu province, where the zone is located, but the neighboring provinces of Qinghai, Shaanxi and Sichuan, as well as Ningxia Hui, Inner Mongolia and Xinjiang Uygur autonomous regions. [Photo/China Daily]

Until now, the New Zone remains a gigantic construction site. The local government launched a massive building project to create the central district last year. The 800 square kilometer development zone will not be completed until 2030.

"Of course we are excited about the New Zone project," said Yan Yonghong, manager of the New Zone project at Gansu Construction Investment (Holdings) Ltd. "We have our best teams on the site so we could finish 44 high-rise residential buildings by next year."

The company is a major construction power in the New Zone. It is responsible for the construction of the residential buildings and a 960,000 square meter construction machinery base.

As one of the first builders in the New Zone, Yan's company will submit tenders for more projects as the basic infrastructure constructions in the zone are completed and the area becomes ready for more investment.

"You would not have wanted to visit the New Zone a year ago," said Ma Like of Gansu Construction. "It became a big muddy pool every time it rained."

No trace of the muddy pool can be found nowadays - at least in the center of the zone. The local government has built a nearly 80-kilometer asphalt road network, paving the way for the settlement of more large enterprises.

Plants for large corporations such as Sany, Geely and China Railway Construction Corp have all been connected with newly-completed eight-lane tarred roads.

The city authorities said on Oct 22 that they had invested 24.6 billion yuan in infrastructure such as power networks, the road grid and running water supply systems.

"We are definitely interested in getting involved in the New Zone project, because it goes with the two mega trends in China: urbanization and industrialization," said Guillaume Dourdin, vice-president of Veolia Water China, the Chinese arm of a France-based water service company.

According to Dourdin, Veolia is talking with the local government about a water supply contract with the New Zone. He declined to disclose details.

Veolia's joint venture with the municipal government provides running water for 2.5 million people in downtown Lanzhou.