The Hunan Leading Group Office of Changsha-Zhuzhou-Xiangtan (CZT) Integrated Development recently issued a five-year action plan for the construction of the CZT Metropolitan Area. In addition, it specified the construction goals and measures between 2022 and 2026, to boost the implementation of the CZT Metropolitan Area Development Plan.  

The plan listed four goals of "new" progress: making new breakthroughs in promoting high-quality development of central China; reaching a new level in building the "Three Hubs"; setting a new model for improving people's high-quality life based on urban integration; and, making new contributions to driving provincial coordinated development.

The plan detailed essential tasks in 18 aspects of six fields. The three cities will carry out unified planning; develop industrial technology jointly; facilitate infrastructure connectivity; make a joint contribution to deliver shared benefits in people's livelihood; make coordinated efforts to protect and restore the environment; and, collaborate in promoting reform and opening up.

Industrial technology will be developed and prospered together. An industrial cluster coordinated development mechanism for the metropolitan area and a unified investment promotion and service platform will be thus established. The industrial, educational, and research resources in the area will be integrated. Priority will be given to the construction of the four high-level laboratory projects – Yuelu Mountain Laboratory; Yuelu Mountain Industrial Innovation Center (Laboratory); Xiangjiang Laboratory; and, Furong Laboratory.

A Changsha-centered multilevel rail transit system will be built. By 2026, the length of rail transit in the metropolitan area will reach 420 km. The Changde-Yiyang-Changsha High-speed Railway will be completed. The Changsha-Ganzhou High-speed Railway construction will be accelerated. The construction of the Yiyang-Loudi High-speed Railway section is under the plan. Efforts will be made to include the Changsha-Jiujiang High-speed Railway into the national plan. A direct connection line linking the Changde-Yiyang-Changsha and the Wuhan-Guangzhou high-speed railways will be constructed. A batch of projects will be accomplished, including the first phase of the CZT Intercity Railway West Ring Line and the Changsha Maglev East Extension Line. Rail lines linking Changsha with Ningxiang, Liuyang, and the Green Core Central Park are planned.

By 2026, another 130 km of trunk roads connecting the three cities will open to traffic, making the total length hit 450 km. A half-hour living circle and a one-hour traffic circle will be formed.

As for people's livelihood, the public service infrastructures in the metropolitan area will be coordinated in layout and sharing. The focus will be put on education, medical care, elderly care, culture, tourism, and sports. Public services will be extended to a broader range, including a key project of the Xiangya Hospital's construction of a national medical center. 

Urban integration of government services will be accelerated. The regions included in the metropolitan area will realize mutual regional recognition of the frequently-used e-licenses and certificates. A number of government service items will be integrated into batches. Household registration, social security, employment, medical insurance, housing provident fund, and other service items will be supplied on an urban integration basis, such as one-stop and cross-regional household registration transfer service.

Ecological improvement goals and missions were raised, including the construction of the Green Core Central Park, the transformation of the old industrial bases along the Xiangjiang River, collabrative work on protecting water, soil, and air pollution, and the work related to peaking carbon emissions and achieving carbon neutrality. The construction of the Changsha Olympic Central Park and the Hunan Flowers and Gardening Exposition Park are included.

The plan also requires expediting the construction of a unified market system focusing on the reforms to ensure production factors are allocated by the market, and promote all-round opening-up based on the implementation of the Belt and Road Initiative.

This article is from the Hunan Provincial Government www.enghunan.gov.cn.

Translator: Pang Yuehui

Chinese source: hunan.gov.cn