In the 10th 5-year period, especially since the 16th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the economy of Guangdong has entered a new round of rapid development. To solve the bottleneck problems which hinder the development of Guangdong's economy, after careful consideration of all the factors invloved, the Guangdong Provincial Committee of CPC and Guangdong Provincial government have put forward plans to accelerate the development of projects in fields like energy, transportation, and water resource management, and to realize breakthroughs in infrastructure construction.

Since 2003,Guangdong has initiated “10 Key Projects”, with great importance attached to infrastructure projects in transportation and energy. Guangdong has also worked hard to foster the growth and expansion of basic industries. The crux of the policies is the accomplishment of a nubmber of important projects which have good prospects and can stimulate the growth of related industries.

According to statistics, during the past 5 years, especially since 2003,Guangdong has invested over 400 billion RMB in 10 key fields such as transportation, energy, and water resource management. The annual investment is over 100 billion RMB, which has laid a solid foundation for the development of Guangdong's economy.

In this new round of infrastructure construction, Guangdong sets high standards and has grand vision. Taking the area of transportation as an example, the Guangdong Provincial Committee of CPC and Guangdong Provincial government pioneered in making the strategic decision of "Constructing Grand Transportation Network, Contributing to Great Economic Expansion".

Guangdong no longer constricts its focus on a single highway or bridge. Instead It is dedicated to building a comprehnsive modern transportation network which increases its competitive edge. In this way,Guangdong turns a new page in the great development of transportation.

Throughout the implementation phase,Guangdong has introduced changes into the mechanism by strengthening coopperation with the Central Government ministries, such as the Ministry of Railways and the Minstry of Communications. Cooperation of this kind greatly boosts the accomplishment of "Grand Transportation". The implementaion of "Grand Transportation" is in the fast lane.

In three consecutive years Guangdong has realized the strategic goals in the construction of highways. By the end 2003, all the major cities in Guangdong were connected to highways; in 2004 all the prefectural-level cities could be reached by highways, which was a year earlier than planned. In 2005, highways connecting Guangdong with other parts of the country were constructed.

Now one can drive from Guangzhou City all the way to any prefectural-level city in Guangdong Province by highway. The Guangdong people's dream of travelling anywhere in Guangdong Province within one day has now come true. The Guangdong section of  the Beijing-Zhuhai Highway is open to traffic. The highway connecting Chongqing and Zhanjiang is now in operation. And, the highway linking Guangdong Province to Jiangxi Province is open.Fifteen inter-province highways shall facilitate the integration of all Guangdong Province's 21 perfectural-level cities into the Pan Pearl River Delta Economic Zone.

Looking to the future, in the 11th 5-year period, Guangdong will continue to concentrate on efforts to build the 10 projects in fields like comprehensive transportation, energy security, and water resoure mangement. The total investment for those projects is estimated to reach 1.5 trillion RMB, with 1.1 trillion RMB of that amount allocated for 11th 5-year period. Two thousand kilometres of highways will be open to traffic, over 1,100 kilometres of railway will be in operation, and 14,280 kilometres of 220 kilovolt powerlines will be added to the electric grid. All those projects will lay a solid foundation for Guangdong Province to be the first one to realize socialist modernaiztion.

Facts
During the 10th 5-year period, 226 projects were planned, which was 1.8 times as many as those in the 9th 5-year period. 460.7 billion RMB was invested, 1.9 times as much as that in the 9th 5-year period.

Since 2003, the investment in Guangdong Province's power and electric facilities has exceeded 200 billion RMB. By the end of 2006, the installed capacity in Guangdong Province was 5,334 kilowatts, an increase of 49% compared to 2002, which has alleviated the power shortage in Guangdong Province.

By 2006, 1,784 thousand kilometres of motorway was open to traffic in Guangdong Province, while in 2002 there were only 1,085 thousand kilometres. By the end of 2006, there were 3,340 kilometres of highway in Guangdong, while in 2002 there were only 1,741 kilometres, an increase of almost 100%.

45% of domestic wastewater in Guangdong Province urban areas was treated in 2005, an increase from 18% in 2002.

Editor: 张莹