HAIKOU /China/, January 27. /TASS/. Haikou city, the administrative center of the southern Chinese province of Haikou, is stepping up measures to create important infrastructure facilities and modernize the architectural development. The Haikou Daily newspaper reported that the local government is focusing on projects that will improve the city image and promote the people's welfare.
Haikou has been among China's top ten most prosperous cities for seven years in a row, the newspaper said. Since 2015 the city has implemented 17 large-scale programs involving the demolition of dilapidated buildings and the construction of modern apartment complexes in their place, according to the article. This has dramatically improved living conditions for more than 120 thousand citizens.
As the local building department pointed out, modern residential buildings and major transportation facilities such as freeways, highways, as well as modern harbors, are being erected at a vigorous pace. The city already has 40 seaports designed for ships over 10,000 tons as a result of ongoing efforts to improve infrastructure.
One of the key projects was the construction of a second terminal at Meilan International Airport, which was completed in early December 2021. This will soon allow Haikou's airport to handle up to 35 million passengers annually. Thus, the administrative center of Hainan is quickly acquiring the image of a leading transportation hub.
In addition, Haikou is working on cleaning up contaminated groundwater. As a result, the authorities have been able to overcome the deficit of this crucial resource for both domestic and industrial purposes. Over the past few years, the quality of the Internet in Haikou has also improved considerably, including with the rapid introduction of new 5G telecommunications standards. The city's energy industry is also developing rapidly, with the gasification rate having already reached 95%.
With a population of 2.8 million people, Haikou is the cultural and economic center of Hainan, actively maintaining contacts with many cities around the world. It is a major international transport hub, capable of handling several million containers annually. According to the Chinese government's plan, a large cluster of headquarters and representative offices of a number of multinational companies will be formed here.