Hitting the halfway mark in both time and investment targets, Chongqing's municipal-level key projects completed over RMB 250 billion in investment in H1.

As the facts have shown that newly standardized pilot-scale production workshops are neatly arrayed, while precision smart equipment operates at full capacity, this is the recently commissioned Phase I project of the Chongqing Biomanufacturing Pilot-Scale Platform, the first national-level biomanufacturing pilot-scale platform in Southwest China with public-service attributes.

 Phase I of the platform focuses on building a world‑leading fully automated intelligent laboratory, providing robust hardware infrastructure for the R&D of cutting-edge biological components and strains. Phase II will feature eight large-scale fermentation modules (ranging from 3 to 30 t) and 16 flexible separation-and-purification modules, enabling comprehensive pilot-scale scale-up services for a wide variety of biosynthetic products, including active ingredients from Chinese herbal medicines and natural functional compounds.

The rapid commissioning of Phase I of the Chongqing Biomanufacturing Pilot-Scale Platform is a telling example of the rapid progress being made on key projects. Since the beginning of this year, the construction of Chongqing’s municipal-level key projects has accelerated steadily. In the first six months, total investment reached RMB 253.24 billion, achieving 50.5% of the annual target, smoothly meeting the mid-year goal of "half the time, half the task accomplished.”

Building Momentum for Industrial Development Through Project Progress

On July 2, the REPT BATTERO 30 GWh battery project in Chongqing, with a total investment of RMB 6.2 billion, officially reached its topping-out milestone.

The project is being developed in two phases. The first phase plans a capacity of 12 GWh for energy-storage and power lithium batteries, covering passenger vehicles, commercial vehicles, as well as residential and industrial & commercial energy-storage applications. It will accommodate the company's proprietary "Wending" battery technology and semi-solid state battery processes. Once operational, the project will fill a critical gap in Fuling District's new-energy vehicle (NEV) cell manufacturing capabilities and help establish a hundred-billion-level industrial ecosystem for intelligent connected NEVs and their components in Fuling.

In fact, as early as 2023, Tsingshan Group had already launched the REPT BATTERO 30 GWh battery project in Chongqing. However, in the early stages, the project's construction pace was temporarily adjusted due to factors such as global new-energy market volatility and rapid technological iteration.

To address this, Fuling District leveraged its dedicated investment-promotion teams across eight industrial chains to connect with multiple resources, successfully bringing in a strategic investor. The district also optimized the investment and cooperation model by replacing traditional ex-ante subsidies with hard mid-term evaluation criteria: if construction and output targets are not met, the disbursement of support funds is suspended. It is effectively pressured the project to accelerate both speed and quality.

Currently, the project has reached 75% of its total progress, establishing a full closed‑loop industrial ecosystem that spans “raw material resources - cell manufacturing - vehicle application.”

The full-throttle advancement of the REPT BATTERO 30 GWh battery project in Chongqing stands as a vivid illustration of how the city is building industrial momentum through project progress.

In the field of photonics and quantum technology, the independently controlled cloud platform project, based on quantum key application mechanisms, has completed over 40 percent of its total engineering work. It will establish an integrated, independently controlled quantum key system with the Chengdu-Chongqing hub serving as its control center. Upon completion, the cloud platform’s computing power will reach no less than 2.5 floating-point operations per second.

In the field of next-generation displays, the Liangjiang BOE LTPO Technical Upgrade Project, with a total investment exceeding RMB 980 million, has completed 84% of its total engineering work and is currently undergoing equipment installation and commissioning. The project will procure 20 units of equipment, including Photo, Sputter, and CVD systems, to upgrade the existing flexible panel LTPO production line. Upon completion, it is expected to generate an additional RMB 2.6 billion in annual output value.

Data shows that in the first half of the year, municipal-level key projects in scientific and technological innovation and manufacturing completed an investment of RMB 57 billion.

Building a Dense Infrastructure Network Through Rapid Project Implementation

For years, inadequate transportation infrastructure has restricted the mobility of residents in the southeastern Chongqing areas including Qianjiang, Youyang, and Xiushan, and has held back regional economic development. This historical shortcoming is now set to be overcome.

Recently, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) officially approved the feasibility study report for the Qianjiang-Jishou High-Speed Railway. The project spans 149 kilometers within Chongqing's territory, with a total investment of RMB 28.7 billion, and will be designed and built as a 350-km/h high‑speed rail line.

Once completed, travel time by rail from downtown Chongqing to Youyang and Xiushan is expected to be reduced from the current 4.5 and 5.5 hours to approximately 1 and 1.5 hours, respectively, achieving full high-speed rail coverage in southeastern Chongqing.

And the travel times from Chongqing to Changsha and Guangzhou will be reduced to 3 hours and less than 5 hours, respectively.

Furthermore, once the project is completed, it will reallocate passenger services on the Chongqing-Huaihua Railway's Qianjiang-Huaihua section, freeing up freight capacity on the line and enhancing the capacity and quality of the eastern corridor of the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor.

In addition to this key milestone for the Qianjiang-Jishou High-Speed Railway, the first half of the year has seen a series of positive developments in Chongqing's railway construction sector.

On July 2, with the pouring of the final batch of concrete, the main station building of the Wanzhoubei Station expansion project on the Chongqing-Wanzhou High-Speed Railway was completed. This marks the official transition of the project into the steel structure construction and interior finishing phases, providing a solid guarantee for the timely commissioning of the Chongqing-Wanzhou High-Speed Railway.

On the morning of June 30, the first train (No. 47009) smoothly passed through the newly added second-track section of the Jiangjin-Tongguanyi railway, signaling that the 22.87‑kilometer double-track section of the Chengdu-Chongqing Railway capacity-expansion project between Jiangjin and Tongguanyi had been put into operation.

On June 29, as the final box girder, 32 meters long and weighing approximately 700 t, was precisely positioned onto the pier of the Hechuandong Station Grand Bridge on the Xi’an-Chongqing High-Speed Railway, it signaled the successful completion of box girder installation for the Chongqing section of the Xi’an-Chongqing High-Speed Railway, laying a solid foundation for the on-schedule completion and commissioning of the Beijing-Kunming High-Speed Railway.

Beyond the “Star-shaped” high-speed rail network taking shape, Chongqing's “Metropolitan Area on Rail” construction has also shifted into high gear. For instance, Phase I of Rail Transit Line 15 began trial operation without passengers on June 18; and the overall construction progress of Rail Transit Line 27 and Phase II of Line 15 has both exceeded 80%, entering the final sprint phase.

In addition to the accelerated pace of transportation construction, key projects are rapidly strengthening the foundation for energy security.

Currently, construction is in full swing at the Phase II expansion project of the Guoneng Wanzhou Power Plant, with over 200 workers on site. Excavation for the No. 4 boiler foundation has commenced, and construction of the chimney has begun simultaneously, with main structure works now fully underway.

This project is a key initiative under the 15th Five-Year Plan. Upon completion, it will add 10 billion kilowatt-hours of annual power generation capacity, making it the largest thermal power plant in Southwest China. It holds irreplaceable strategic value for alleviating the city’s power supply pressure during the summer peak demand period and strengthening the foundation for regional industrial development.

Additionally, the Chongqing-Guizhou back-to-back grid interconnection project has completed 22% of the total engineering volume, and will feature a new converter station capacity of 3 million kVA and 200 kilometers of 500 kV transmission lines. Meanwhile, from January to June, the 100-billion-cubic-meter natural gas production base recorded a cumulative total output of 8.85 billion cubic meters, with investment reaching RMB 6.26 billion, a year-on-year increase of 4.3%.

Infrastructure is the cornerstone of economic and social development. Currently, Chongqing is accelerating the expansion of its infrastructure network through the “speed” of project delivery. Data shows that in the first half of the year, investment in municipal-level key infrastructure projects, including transportation, energy, and water conservancy, totaled RMB 96.1 billion.

Strengthening the Foundation of Public Welfare Through “Substantive” Projects

“The main structure of the Jinfu Campus of Tongnan Middle School has been fully completed, and we are now proceeding with interior finishing, exterior paving, and sports field construction," said Tang Yucheng, Director of the Planning and Construction Section of the Tongnan District Education Commission, on July 20. The campus is designed to accommodate 96 classes with a capacity of 4,800 students, and is expected to be ready for delivery by early August.

Education is a top concern for every family. Chongqing has been accelerating the construction of key school projects this year to continuously expand the supply of quality basic education resources.

At the Liangjiang Plot A67-4 site, the Senior High Division project, with a total floor area of approximately 36,000 square meters, has been fully completed. It features 30 classrooms and can accommodate 1,500 students, and is scheduled to be delivered in August and officially put into operation in September this year.

Meanwhile, the Chongqing Liangjiang Bashu Jiahe Elementary School, with a total floor area of approximately 29,000 square meters, is essentially complete. It features 36 classrooms and can accommodate 1,620 students, and is expected to officially put into operation in September this year.

Education is not the only priority, healthcare is another vital pillar of public welfare. In the first half of this year, Chongqing has been accelerating the enhancement of healthcare services through the steady progress of key projects.

For example, the Chongqing Hospital of Jiangsu Province Hospital, a National Regional Medical Center project, has cumulatively completed 89% of its total engineering volume. Jointly built by Chongqing Municipality and Jiangsu Province Hospital, the hospital focuses on cardiovascular care and is committed to establishing itself as a Class A tertiary hospital integrating cardiac medicine and surgery, oncology, rehabilitation, and other disciplines.

Simultaneously, the relocation and new construction project of the Liangjiang New Area Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital is nearing full completion, with system commissioning currently underway. Located in the Lijia cluster, the project represents a total investment of RMB 1.78 billion. Its main facilities include a comprehensive building, a specialty building, and an infectious disease building. The hospital will focus on five key specialties including neurology, orthopaedics, rehabilitation, pulmonology, and cardiology, and is committed to building a TCM healthcare service system that “combines prevention and treatment, integrates Chinese and Western medicine, and features distinctive strengths.”

Every livelihood matter counts, and every detail speaks to the care we bear for our people. The accelerated pace of Chongqing's municipal-level key projects is a vivid reflection of the city's strong resolve in ensuring public wellbeing

Data shows that in the first half of the year, municipal‑level key projects in education and healthcare, two essential pillars of public wellbeing, completed an investment of RMB 13.66 billion.

Source: Chongqing Daily