Guangzhou plans to invest Yn30bn in basic infrastructure on Nansha Island over the next three years, said the city's executive vicemayor Zhang Guangning. He was speaking at a ceremony for the Shazai Bridge, a 1kmlong road bridge that is planned to be the first of several major road projects for the area. By 2005 the island, described as the focus of the city's long-term development plans, will be linked by expressway with the city centre. Blueprints for the area include a shipbuilding facility, a petrochemicals shipping and storage facility, and a high-tech zone.
The plans should benefit Hong Kong tycoon Fok Ying-tung. The business and recreational facilities he built on Nansha with an investment of US$320m have been little used because of Nansha's isolation. Fok is an investor in Nansha IT Park, which will be built as part of the development.