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JiujiangJiujiang, whose name means ‘nine rivers’ in Chinese, is situated in the north of Jiangxi province. To the south of this picturesque city lies Lushan, a famous summer resort, while to the east is Poyang Lake, China’s largest freshwater lake. Jiujiang has a population of 4.69m, of whom 650,000 people live in the city proper.
Historically, it has been an important commercial port and military town. For centuries, it has been a centre for tea and rice trading; its cereals market remains an important national reference for the price of rice.
Of all the major port cities along the Yangtze, Jiujiang stands out as one of the most attractive, ambitious and vibrant; it has the feel of a provincial capital, although Nanchang holds that position in Jiangxi.
Jiujiang has a diversified industrial base, its major sectors being petrochemicals, shipbuilding, textiles, machinery and mining. The surrounding area has significant reserves of tin, antimony, fluorite, gold and copper. Tourism is also important, with the famous mountain resort of Lushan being just two hours away by road.
Most recent investment has been in the chemicals and petrochemicals sectors. China National Bluestar Corp operates a Rmb1bn plant that makes organosilicon, an important chemical used in a variety of industrial applications. Bluestar also has a joint venture with Cabot that makes fumed silica, an advanced chemical product used in the auto and construction sectors.
Sateri International Group, a Finnish manufacturer of dissolving pulp and viscose fibres, operates a wholly foreign-owned viscose fibre mill in Jiujiang.
Sinopec Jiujiang, situated in the eastern suburbs of the city, is the only large-scale petrochemicals enterprise in Jiangxi province. It comprises a refinery and fertiliser and chemicals plants, and has new installations for coking and hydrofining.
Suzuki has a Jiujiang joint venture with Chinese minibus maker Changhe Automotive that produces 1.4-litre engines. The plant has also moved into the mass production of Liana-brand sedan cars.
Jiujiang ETDZ, founded in 1992, is located in the southwest suburbs of the city, on the south bank of the Yangtze and close to the port. The zone includes a state-level export processing park, the only one of its kind in Jiangxi. It also contains a comprehensive industrial park and three specialised parks that produce automobiles, petrochemicals and chemical fibres.
Established in 2000, Xinghuo Industrial Park is engaged mainly in the manufacture, research and development of organosilicon products. An area of 2 sq km has so far been put into operation, out of a planned total of 10 sq km.
The Beijing-Zhuhai and Fuzhou-Lanzhou national highways pass through the city, and Jiujiang is connected by expressway to Jingdezhen and to the provincial capital Nanchang. The Daqing-Guangzhou and Ningbo-Ruili expressways, both of which are currently under construction, will also pass through the city (Ruili is a city in Yunnan province).
Trains run every hour between Jiujiang and Nanchang, and there is also a line to Maanshan. An intercity express rail link between Jiujiang and Nanchang is expected to be completed in 2009. It will alleviate pressure on the Beijing-Kowloon service and will cut the rail journey time between Jiujiang and Nanchang from 90 minutes to 40 minutes.
Jiujiang airport reopened in 2006, having been closed for seven years due to low traffic levels. Services are very limited, though there are regular flights to Shanghai.
Jiujiang is the only Yangtze port in Jiangxi province. Situated at the point where the Beijing-Jiujiang Railway meets the Yangtze, it is one of five national hub ports along the river and one of China’s 13 main ports for coal transhipment. Equipped with a coal testing centre, the port has an annual capacity of 1m tons of coal and storage space for 100,000 tons. The port also handles bulk items such as steel and stone slabs and breakbulk such as iron ore and coal, in addition to containers.
Jiujiang Port Group operates three major public terminals in the city: the Foreign Trade Terminal, the Longkaihe Terminal and the Sanjiaoxian Terminal. All three are situated on the south bank of the Yangtze and all have dedicated rail lines that link them directly with the national rail network.
Container throughput levels have soared in recent years. The priority area for investment is the new Hukou International Container Terminal, to the east of the city and on the south bank of the river. Jiujiang plans to invest Rmb470m in the terminal to increase its container handling capacity to 300,000 teu by 2010 and to 800,000 teu in the longer term.
The port is also looking for Rmb20m to convert its old passenger terminal to a ro-ro terminal. A new multi-purpose terminal is also being built, known as Guanhu, in the Chengxi area of the city.
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