Shanghai launched 64 new projects with a combined investment of 273.4 billion yuan ($42.2 billion) on Jan 4, involving highend industries, scientific and technological innovation, infrastructure, major livelihood and other fields.

The projects will spread across the city and will further unleash Shanghai's enormous development potential. It includes manufacturing, integrated circuits, biomedical and artificial intelligence projects, as well as high-end industrial chain programs of technological innovation, finance and trading.

Shanghai's economy has largely remained resilient despite the COVID-19 effect. From January to November, its fixed assets investment grew by 10.7 percent on a yearly basis, while manufacturing investment rose by 19.3 percent, the 33rd month in a row of double-digit growth.

Work on a 150,000-square-meter biopharmaceutical industry base has started in the Pudong New Area of the city. The 8 billion yuan investment industrial base will focus on antibodies, vaccines, cell therapy and gene therapy. It will be one of the most advanced industrial clusters for biopharmaceutical innovation in the nation, said Zuo Min, executive director and president of Shanghai Pharmaceuticals Holding Co Ltd.

According to Zuo, the biopharmaceutical industrial base will help accelerate the development and industrialization of the new drugs made by the company.

Pudong, which celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2020, continues to be a major engine for opening-up in Shanghai. On Jan 4, the new area launched 15 projects with a total investment of 84.8 billion yuan, according to officials.

"Pudong will actively take the lead by developing key industries and effectively attracting investment for high-quality projects, so as to guarantee the high-quality development of the city and the nation," said Hang Yingwei, director of the Pudong New Area.

The new area administration has earmarked 4.94 billion yuan for the renovation of a key road project-Yanggao Road, to ease traffic jams in the area, as part of the ongoing efforts to improve infrastructure facilities and enhance efficiency, said Yao Kai, an official of the Pudong New Area.

The project will be sustainable, intelligent, as well as environmentally-friendly, said Yao.

Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding Co, a unit of China State Shipbuilding Corp, broke ground for its new site on Changxing island on Jan 4. The first phase of the project will involve an investment of 8 billion yuan to build 460,000 sq m gross floor area including research and development facilities, workshops and docks. This will enable the shipbuilder to build six special vessels every year after the project is completed by the end of 2023.

The overall project involving an investment of 18 billion yuan seeks to upgrade Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding into a world-class intelligent shipyard with advanced facilities, great operational efficiency and high standards of safety and sustainability, said Chen Jianliang, chairman of Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding.

Sinopec Shanghai Petrochemical was another major enterprise that started work on its 3.5 billion yuan large tow carbon fiber project on Jan 4.

The project due to be completed by 2024 will reduce China's reliance on imports and end supply shortages, according to Wu Haijun, chairman of Sinopec Shanghai Petrochemical.

"We are confident that this will be a landmark project in Sinopec's industrial upgrade," said Wu.

The East China University of Political Science and Law said on Jan 4 that its 489 million yuan Songjiang campus expansion project is one of the largest infrastructure and investment projects in Songjiang district of the city.

While retaining the classic style of the university's existing buildings, the expansion project will also focus on having state-of-the-art interiors to satisfy the day-to-day requirements for teaching and studies, said Guo Weilu, Party secretary of the East China University of Political Science and Law. Guo said the expansion project is set to be completed in three years.

The projects, launched on Jan 4 with a variety of State-owned, private-owned and foreign investments, are fueled by opportunities arising from China's industrial transition and consumption upgrade, and will spur the city's technology upgrade efforts, said officials.