Xinjiang Zhundong Economic and Technological Development Zone

Located in the Changji Hui autonomous prefecture 200 kilometers away from Urumqi, the capital of the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, Xinjiang Zhundong Economic and Technological Development Zone has a planned area of 15,500 square kilometers. Inside the zone, Zhundong coalfield is the largest fully-fitted coalfield in China with a predicted reserve of 390 billion tons, accounting for 17.8 percent of the coal reserve in Xinjiang and 7 percent of China’s. Currently the proved reserve totals 253.1 billion tons.

In December 2005, the autonomous region’s government decided to accelerate the coal development in Zhundong to build a coal electricity and coal chemistry industrial belt. In September 2012, the State Council approved making it a State-level economic and technological development zone. In December 2016, the autonomous region government decided to make it a pilot zone for electric power system reform and in July 2017, decided to build an industrial base for silicon-based new materials in the development zone.

The development zone has fostered the six leading industries of coal, coal electricity, integration of coal, electricity and metallurgy, modern coal chemistry, new material and new energy. In 2018, the development zone achieved 16.56 billion yuan ($2.45 billion) in industrial added value, generated 3.61 billion yuan in tax and 2.2 billion yuan in general public revenue.