The Qinhuangdao Economic and Technological Development Zone is expected to ride on an ever faster growth track from 2006, says Hu Yingjie, director of the zone's administrative committee.

As one of the first groups of State-level economic and technological development zones approved by the State Council in October, 1984, the Qinhuangdao Development Zone has achieved great progress during the past 20 years, which has laid a solid foundation for its future development, Hu said.

While promoting the zone's economy, the administration attaches great importance to the development and protection of the interests of local farmers who lost land during the zone's establishment and expansion, Hu said.

The zone has made great efforts to improve the farmers' quality of life.

Twenty-one companies engaged in services including housework, transportation and tourist guiding, have been established by the zone.

These businesses have provided more than 320 job opportunities to local residents whose land was taken by the zone, an official from the administrative committee said.

Administrative staff have been sent to individual villages to help farmers find jobs in township enterprises and offer advice to them to increase their income.

To help villagers to improve living standards is regarded as a duty of the administration. The administration has spent 460,000 yuan (US$55,422) building tap water and cable TV systems and roads in nearby villages, official statistics show.

Following China's entry into the World Trade Organization (WTO), policy advantages in development zones have been gradually shadowed, making environmental protection a key to efficiently enticing foreign investment and intensifying economic development.

Environmental protection has been put high on the work agenda of the zone's administration, Hu said.

The zone was the second among 49 key development zones in China to pass the ISO14000 Standards level in June, 2001.

The standards were issued by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) to balance environmental protection and economic development. The ISO14000 Series Environmental Management Systems plays an important role in regulating behaviors related to environmental protection, cutting cost and reducing trade barriers.

In 2003, the development zone injected more than 100 million yuan (US$12 million) into 31 environmental protection projects.

About 1.95 billion yuan (US$234.9 million) is expected to be channeled into the infrastructure construction and 150 million yuan (US$18 million) into the environmental enhancement this year in the zone, official statistics showed.

Improved environment garners obvious economic benefits, resulting in rapid increases in investment and economic benefits and deeper awareness about the ISO14000 program, Hu said.

The zone attracted 32 foreign-invested projects, with a total investment of US$258.78 million last year, accounting for 75 per cent of the total foreign investment attracted by Qinhuangdao, doubling the investment amount in the previous year.

The actual utilization of foreign investment reached US$106.78 million in 2003, accounting for 71 per cent of the total used by the city, statistics from the Qinhuangdao Municipal Government indicated.

Domestic companies were also active in investing in the zone. More than 330 projects funded by domestic investors were approved in 2003, involving an investment of 2.1 billion yuan (US$253 million).

Efficient services of the administrative committee and well-equipped facilities are another contributor to the zone's fast growth, Hu said.

To improve the investment environment and help companies reduce production costs, the zone has built a thermo-power plant with a total investment of US$29 million to guarantee a stable supply of heating, gas and electricity for settled companies, an official of the municipal government said.

Railway lines have been constructed in the zone to link the port and the railway station. They extend to the plants for efficient delivery of raw materials.

(China Daily October 4, 2004)