HAIKOU, May 13. /TASS/. The Hainan authorities on Thursday held a series of ceremonies to conclude a package of strategic investment agreements worth 29.1 billion yuan ($ 4.5 billion), announced Publicity Department of CPC Hainan Provincial Committee.

According to the stetement published on the Hainan administration's page on the WeChat, it is planned to implement more than 100 projects for the indicated amount. The capitalization of six of them (each worth at least $ 155 million) in total reaches 8.8 billion yuan (approximately $ 1.3 billion), and sixteen more - 11.8 billion yuan ($ 1.8 billion).

According to official figures, these funds are intended to fulfill the objectives of the program for Hainan's Free Trade Port in such big cities of the island as Sanya and Danzhou, as well as in smaller towns and counties. Among the key areas of financing are the development of the real estate sector and improving the quality of public education, improving the environment and ensuring high-tech waste disposal, boosting commercial activities, optimizing logistics and modern services, building and improving infrastructure facilities.

A significant part of the investment, as specified, is planned to be invested in the economy of the central and western part of Hainan, inhabited by the population with the lowest income level in the province. Funding will also affect the port of Yangpu (northwest of the island) - a key hub for transcontinental ocean shipping, the role of which, according to representatives of the Chinese authorities, will constantly increase in the coming years.

Ceremonies for the one-off closure of large packages of investment agreements are held periodically on the island. This year the collective signing of contracts took place for the third time. The main task of such events is to ensure the coordinated and effective development of several industries at once and, thanks to this synchronization, increase the growth rate of the regional product, and boost the formation of a free port.