Guangdong set to reap marine economy

The value of Guangdong province's marine economy is expected reach 1.5 trillion yuan ($238.5 billion) by 2015, accounting for a quarter of the province's GDP, the local oceanic administration said on May 4.

The figure marks a sharp rise from 980.7 billion yuan in 2011.

"Transportation and fisheries make up a major portion of Guangdong's marine economy. We will maintain the development of these industries and at the same time pursue new growth engines for our marine economy," Zheng Weiyi, deputy director of Guangdong Administration of Ocean and Fisheries, said at a press conference.

"We are going to invest a lot in high-end marine equipment manufacturing."

Zheng's administration on May 4 released a marine economy map, which illustrates the province's marine resources and key areas and industries for its marine economy.

Guangdong became the country's third pilot zone for developing the marine economy in April, 2011. The other two are East China's Shandong and Zhejiang provinces.

China National Offshore Oil Corporation has invested in building a world-class base for marine engineering equipment manufacturing in Zhuhai, Guangdong province. The three-phase project started construction in 2009 and is expected to be complete by 2015. The investment for the project's first phase is 5 billion yuan.

The Zhuhai project is one of the six planned bases for marine engineering equipment manufacturing in Guangdong.

More high-tech marine industries include marine bio-pharmaceutics, marine renewable energies exploration and seaside petrochemical and steel industries, Zheng added.

The province is probing the deep sea for the rich resources including flammable ice, oil and gas.

"Guangdong faces the South China Sea and should make full use of the Sea's rich resources," Xiang Xiaomei, head of the institute of industrial economics research of Guangdong Academy of Social Sciences and chief designer of Guangdong's map for marine economy, told China Daily.

"For example, Guangdong's fishery is now mainly in shallow sea, but actually we can explore the fishery resources in the deep sea," said Xiang. "In addition, deep sea fisheries can save fresh water resources near the shallow sea from pollution."

Zheng from the Guangdong Administration of Ocean and Fisheries added that the government will prioritize the development of eastern and western Guangdong.

"Eastern and western Guangdong are less developed. We hope that the two areas can take advantage of their abundant marine resources to boost their economies," said Zheng.

"In this way, Guangdong is able to balance the economic development among cities."

Cities within Guangdong also have to cooperate with each other. The map lists six major bay areas where the provincial government will devote great efforts to develop marine economy.

Guangdong has the longest coastline in China, measuring 4,114 km, and with more than 510 bays.

Guangdong is also rich in island resources. The province has the third largest number of islands in China, amounting to 1,431.

"We aim at combining developing islands and protecting their eco-systems," said Zheng. He revealed that the province is planning to develop local marine natural reserves into marine parks.

Zhuhai's Hengqin Island has been the first in Guangdong to boost marine tourism. Hengqin Chime-Long International Ocean Resort is expected to be completed by 2012 and become a strong competitor for Ocean Park Hong Kong.