A MANNED submersible has successfully dived to 3,759.39 meters below the surface of the South Sea in July 2010, which meant China has become the fifth country which has manned submersible to reach 3,500 meters under the sea. The other four include the United States, France, Russia and Japan. Deep sea development has once again become a hot issue in the country.

At present, in the temporary office of the Qingdao National Deep Sea Base, a conceptual designing plan has just been finished. According to the plan, the deep sea base will build a 414-meter leading jetty and a 280-meter port. After the construction finishes, it can operate 10 ships weighing more than 1,000 tons.

The base was approved by the State Council in 2007 and the first phase of the project was officially approved in June last year. It will be built in Aoshanwei, Jimo, covering a land area of 26 hectares and sea area of 62.7 hectares.

Total investment of the first phase is 495 million yuan with the floor space of 24,526 square meters. The first phase includes infrastructure facilities of port, factory and laboratory, while the second phase will include other facilities for full operation. Total investment of the whole project is 1.47 billion yuan with total floor space of 54,490 square meters. As a key project for the blue economy, it will become the city's key platform to develop high-end new industry.

(Wang Yuanyuan, Zhao Di)

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The designing plan of the deep sea base has already been finished and is now waiting for the final approval of the central government. The base can help promote the city's industries such as deep sea equipment research and manufacturing, deep sea biology and resource exploration.