City to invest ¥411.9b on 95 new infrastructure projects

5G base stations are seen near the Shenzhen Civic Center in Futian District. Nanfang Plus

Shenzhen will invest a total of 411.9 billion yuan (US$58.9 billion) on 95 new infrastructure projects in a bid to ensure stable investment and steady, high-quality economic growth.

It was announced at a press conference held yesterday by the city government to explain a recently released plan for accelerating the construction of new infrastructure for 2020-2025.

Some 100.6 billion yuan of investment is expected to be made this year, said Zeng Jianpeng, deputy director of the Shenzhen Development and Reform Commission, at the conference.

The 95 projects will include 34 social investment projects and 61 government investment projects.

The new infrastructure projects can be divided into three categories — information-based infrastructure; converged infrastructure supported by applications of new technologies such as the Internet, big data and artificial intelligence; and innovative infrastructure that supports scientific research, technology and product development.

Typically, new infrastructure involves a number of key fields, such as 5G, Internet of Things, industrial Internet, cloud computing, blockchain, data centers, smart computing centers and smart transportation.

According to the plan, Shenzhen strives to be among the top in the world by 2025 in terms of the scale and innovation level of new infrastructure facilities.

Shenzhen also aims to become one of the world’s leading 5G cities and be at the global peak for intelligent computing and general supercomputing.

A total of 45,000 5G stations will be built by the end of August this year to achieve full 5G coverage across the city.

The city will also speed up the construction of a smart modern transportation system and plans to complete and put into use at least five key scientific and technological infrastructure facilities by 2025.

For the first time, new infrastructure was mentioned in the Central Government’s work report delivered in the annual national legislative session this year.

The country’s investment in new infrastructure is expected to reach 17.5 trillion yuan for the 2020-2025 period, marking an annualized growth rate of around 21.6 percent, according to the National Development and Reform Commission in April.

While traditional infrastructure such as roads and airports connect goods and people, the new digital infrastructure connects data, enabling the introduction of new types of products and services as well as new manufacturing systems and business models.