A total of 12 key projects started construction in the Economic & Technological Development Zone (Hannan), Hubei province on Oct 11.
A ceremony celebrated the start of construction of 12 key projects in the WHDZ on Oct 11. [Photos/WHDZ's official WeChat account]
The projects, with an investment of 14.3 billion yuan ($2.17 billion), cover a wide range of fields, such as natural gas supply, Internet of Vehicles, helicopter assembly and fuel cells.
Since the beginning of the year, the WHDZ has rolled out guidelines to promote clusters of emerging and frontier industries in the advanced manufacturing, high-tech and modern service sectors.
Meanwhile, the WHDZ has developed a tailored mechanism to better manage the progress of each project.
Zhang Yingjie, vice-president of Pony Test Group, said the company chose the WHDZ because of its advantageous investment environment, strong foundation in the automobile industry, and mature supporting industries.
Pony Test Group plans to build a research and development base and a headquarters for its business in Central China in the WHDZ. The project entails an investment of 210 million yuan and will create 1,200 jobs.
An illustration of the R&D base
A private third-party testing organization, Pony Test provides governmental departments and enterprises with testing services covering auto parts, food safety, and the environment.
Lu Jinsen, strategy director of Beijing Ming Hao Aviation Investment Management Company, said its investment project in the WHDZ is expected to assemble the first "Wuhan-made" helicopter at the end of the year.
The company will build a KA-32 Helicopter assembly line and an Ansat helicopter production line with an investment of 1.2 billion yuan.
It will be the first production and assembly line for Russia-made helicopters in China, Lu noted.
The Hanyang Special-Purpose Vehicle Institute of the China Automotive Technology & Research Center invested about 300 million yuan to set up the first testing center for new energy vehicles in Wuhan.
