Construction commenced in Shanghai on what is expected to be the world's largest shipyard. The shipyard will cover eight kilometers (five miles) of the coast of Changxing Island, located within Shanghai Municipality.
The shipyard is scheduled to begin operations in 2007 and is expected to be fully operational by 2015, with an annual capacity of eight million tons.
The US$3.6 billion shipyard project is expected to make state-owned China State Shipbuilding Corp the world's largest shipmaker in addition to making China the world's top shipbuilding country. China is currently the world's third-largest shipbuilder, after South Korea and Japan.
The Changxing shipyard will absorb two other shipyards, the Jiangnan and the Hudong, and will produce liquefied natural gas carriers, supertankers and luxury liners. It is expected to create 80,000 jobs.