Marine Science and Engineering Lab unveiled in Nansha

The first Guangzhou High-end Forum on Marine Science and Industrial Technology, also referred to as the 60th Anniversary Academic Forum of the South China Sea Institute of Oceanology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, was held in Nansha district, Guangzhou from Jan 8 to 9. 

The first Guangzhou High-end Forum on Marine Science and Industrial Technology is held in Nansha district, Guangzhou from Jan 8 to 9.[Photo by Li Xiatong/gznsnews.com]

The forum included 11 academicians and two foreign experts. Leaders in the field of marine science gathered to provide advice on the development of marine technology and marine economy in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area.

On January 8, the Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory  was officially inaugurated in Nansha. According to the “8+7+6+5” layout, it will be a world-class marine science and engineering research and development base and develop high-tech industry in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area.

Wang Dong, vice mayor of Guangzhou, Zheng Haitao, deputy director general of the Guangdong Science and Technology Department, Xie Ming, deputy director general of the Administrative Committee of Nansha Development Zone, Zhu Dantao, member of the standing committee of CPC Nansha District Committee, vice mayor of Nansha District, and Xiang Libin, vice dean of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, attended the meeting. "We will put all marine research into the Nansha laboratory, with the goal of creating a world-class marine research laboratory," said Xiang Libin when introducing the facility.

The expert gives a speech.[Photo by Li Xiatong/gznsnews.com]

The laboratory is in the main resource of the South China Sea Eco-Environmental Engineering Innovation Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Guangzhou Marine Geological Survey Bureau. It dedicates 600 mu (242 hectares）to scientific research planning, including 85 mu for the basic research park of the South China Sea and 100 mu for the Basic Research Park of the Guangzhou Marine Geological Survey Bureau, 106 mu for Guangzhou Nanhai Science National Center Park, 29 mu for Cold Spring System Science Park, and 280 mu for a large scientific research dock and rock core library.

The laboratory will focus on the core scientific issues of “formation and evolution of the marginal seas of the South China Sea and its resource and environmental effects” and on solving key core scientific and technological problems such as sustainable development of islands and reefs, sustainable use of resources, and sustainable ecological development.

In accordance with its“8+7+6+5” layout, it will focus on the frontier research directions of the eight major marine sciences, develop seven major marine high-tech research and development directions, build six innovation support platforms, create five industrial incubation centers, and build a world-class marine science and engineering research and development base to promote the development of marine high-tech industry in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area.

Relying on the construction of the South China Sea Innovation Institute and the Cold Spring Science Facility, the Chinese Academy of Sciences will integrate more research teams with different advantages and use problem-oriented, collaborative cooperation to build a world-class marine science and engineering technology research and development base with scientific equipment.

"In terms of marine industry development, Nansha has geographical advantages, the advantage of being on the Pearl River Estuary and adjacent to Hong Kong and Macao and the policy advantages of multiple national strategies. Now Nansha has developed into a stage of integrated development of transportation, marine high-end equipment manufacturing, marine technology and other industries," said Xie Ming, deputy director general of the Administrative Committee of Nansha Development Zone.

Nansha has successively gathered many research institutes. The Deep-Sea Science and Technology Innovation Center of the Guangzhou Marine Geological Survey Bureau and the South China Sea Ecological Environment Engineering Innovation Research Institute have settled in Nansha. Besides, Nansha is promoting the construction of a large scientific installation of the cold spring ecosystem as an important support for marine science and technology and the industrialization of combustible ice.