The Lingang New City, a city close to the Yangshan Deepwater Port, was unveiled recently after two years of construction.

The city, which made its debut in late March, has already signed investment contracts of US$1.25 billion with domestic and foreign companies, an official of the Lingang New City told reporters on Tuesday.

The development of the new city so close to Yangshan Deepwater Port was a strategic step towards the Shanghai's goal of building an international shipping center by 2020, the official disclosed.

Lingang, covering nearly 300 square kilometers with a population of 800,000, has the most potential among the country's developing areas, he said.

At the southeastern tip of Shanghai, Lingang faces Pudong International Airport to the north and Yangshan port to the south, boasting easy access to five modes of transportation: ocean, air, river, highway and railway.

Lingang is designed to be an equipment manufacturing base that will house automotive, ship, logistic, electronic and aerospace equipment, and will be a supporting stronghold for the emerging Yangshan port.

Lingang has been earmarked for 36 billion yuan (US$4.5 billion) of fixed asset investments, of which 22.5 billion yuan (US$2.8 billion) has gone into infrastructure building.