SHENZHEN plans to spend 140 billion yuan (US$19 billion) on the construction of “new infrastructure” this year to sharpen its competitive edge. This represents an increase of over 14% from the prior year’s expenditure, which was 122.3 billion yuan.

While traditional infrastructure like roads and bridges help improve transportation, “new infrastructure” facilitates the transmission of data and enhances operation of existing facilities. Extra-high voltage power grids, 5G networks, inter-city rail transit, new energy vehicle charging stations, big data centers, artificial intelligence (AI), and the industrial internet all fall into this category.

As one of the first cities in the country to pilot “new infrastructure” construction, Shenzhen is accelerating the creation of an international benchmark for new smart cities and serving as a model city for Digital China.

The city plans to construct and transform 8,000 5G base stations throughout the year and add gigabit fiber-optic broadband to 1 million households.

It will build more than two digital transformation public service platforms and promote technical transformation in more than 1,300 enterprises.

The vigorous development of new infrastructure relies on the city’s inherent advantages and the systematic advancement of its industrial clusters.

In 2024, Shenzhen plans to start constructing more than two major advanced manufacturing projects valued at over 10 billion yuan each.

Six of the 20 advanced manufacturing parks in Shenzhen, a hub of China’s integrated circuit industry, are dedicated to the semiconductor and integrated circuit sector. A batch of key integrated circuit projects, including the Founder Microelectronics Base, is expected to be completed and put into operation this year.

The BYD Global R&D Center & Advanced Manufacturing Base in Longgang District is under construction. The facility will boast 50 cutting-edge technology labs and 11 research institutes upon completion, creating 60,000 R&D jobs.

The city plans to add 50,000 charging piles for new energy vehicles within the year. By the end of this year, the city will boast 1,000 supercharging stations that will allow divers to “have a coffee and leave with a full charge.”

Computational power is becoming a significant driver for high-quality economic and social development. Shenzhen has proposed that by 2025, it will build itself into a benchmark city for China’s computing network.

“‘New infrastructure’ is an inevitable choice for Shenzhen under new circumstances and tasks, a crucial path for transformation and upgrading of its traditional industries,” Ma Chaoliang with China Development Institute, a think tank based in Shenzhen, said.                (Mu Zi)