Construction of a financial hub to the north of Dishui Lake broke ground on Thursday afternoon amid Lingang’s ambition to build a cluster of cross-border financial headquarters and a center of financial innovation lakeside.

The city’s answer to Singapore’s Marina Bay, the project covers nearly 30 hectares and is bordered by Huanhu Road N1 in the south, Huanhu Road N2 in the north, Qingxiang Port in the west and Lanyun Port in the east.

The total construction area will reach 1.48 million square meters, and the underground parts will all be connected. It will be a large urban complex integrating offices, hotels, shopping malls, residences and cultural facilities.

Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Agricultural Bank of China, Bank of Communications, Shanghai Rural Commercial Bank, Pacific Insurance and Shanghai Pudong Development Bank will own properties while a number of Fortune Global 500 companies, headquarters and listed companies have expressed a desire to move in.

Within five years, it will be built into a high ground of cross-border finance, international trade, digital economy and international talent services in the Lingang Special Area. A large number of banks, insurance, securities, investment, fund, international trade, talent service and other enterprises will be gathered here to carry out innovations in financial services, cross-border bond issuance, investment, mergers and acquisitions and other services to promote the convenience of cross-border payment and the internationalization of the yuan.

On the same day, the first anniversary of the establishment of the Lingang Special Area of China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone, the administrator of the port town issued an overall plan with details of its development in the next three years.

The action plan (2020-2022) is expected to lay a solid foundation for Lingang to become an important base to gather talent at home and abroad to carry out international innovation coordination; an important hub for the overall development of onshore and offshore businesses; an important springboard for enterprises to go global, an important channel for making better use of two kinds of resources in the two markets, and an important test field for participating in international economic governance.

In line with the plan, Lingang’s economic strength will be significantly enhanced. The average annual growth rate of regional added value will reach 25 percent; total industrial output will reach 600 billion yuan (US$87 billion); total imports and exports will exceed 115 billion yuan; and container throughput of Yangshan Port will exceed 23 million TEUs.

Lingang’s quality of development will be significantly improved. In the fields of intelligent vehicles, integrated circuits, high-end equipment, biomedicine and other fields, Lingang will cultivate industrial clusters each worth 100 billion yuan; add more than 1,500 new high-tech enterprises and innovative institutes; introduce and cultivate more than 20 headquarters and more than 200 financial and investment institutions of various types; and the number of PCT international patent applications will exceed 500.

Lingang’s development environment will be continuously optimized. More than 20 major scientific and technological innovation platforms will be added; financial support for the real economy will reach more than 150 billion yuan; the average annual growth rate of cross-border financing of enterprises will be more than 50 percent; 100 percent of government approval items will be handled online; and the installment charge of water, power and gas supplies for nonresidents will be cancelled.

The improvement of Lingang’s urban functions will be accelerated. The 5G network will cover almost every corner of the town and provide enhanced signals in key areas; the coverage of public transport will increase by 20 percent, together with 20 percent more stops, and the application of autonomous public transport will be tested; the total construction area of various types of housing will increase 9 million square meters; all the domestic waste will be treated to be harmless; and community public services, such as schools, clinics and senior homes will be available within 15 minutes.