Sci-tech innovation center built to advance marine industry

Costing 780 million yuan ($117 million), the Zhanjiang Micro-Innovation & Marine Sci-Tech Innovation Center was inaugurated on July 9 amid efforts to bolster Zhanjiang as a marine economy development demonstration city through innovation. 

The 400-mu (26.7-hectare) complex has a total floor area of 280,000 square meters, and is divided into two sections. The first section includes a marine financial edifice, scientific and technological innovation edifice, enterprise headquarters, professional studios, maker incubators, and apartments.

As the city's first hi-tech marine industrial park, the Marine Sci-Tech Innovation Center will dedicate itself to cultivating innovative talents, incubating startups and striving for scientific and technological achievements in the maritime industry.

One-stop services are available for enterprises in the industrial park, including financing, resource-sharing and match-making.

According to Party Secretary Zheng Renhao, Zhanjiang is rich in marine resources and has bright prospects for hi-tech development. The park should take full advantage of its strengths, establishing itself as a beacon of innovation with the influx of top-notch research institutions and universities.

The first entrants to the industrial park included research institutions and innovation centers of Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangdong Medical University, and Guangdong Academy of Sciences. They will engage in research related to marine science, materials, medicine and biology.