[Infrastructure investment accelerated in many places]Infrastructure investment has picked up sharply recently, as evidenced by data released from a number of places. On the basis of major projects started in earnest in the first four months, new projects are being laid out in some localities. In addition, the large-scale construction of new infrastructure in 2023 will help accelerate the release of digital dividends. According to experts, there are many reasons for the acceleration of infrastructure investment, including sufficient project reserves, strong policy support such as land use, and a wide range of funding channels. In 2023, the central government will invest 640 billion yuan, an increase of 30 billion yuan over 2022. At the same time, 3.65 trillion yuan of local government special bonds will be allocated in 2023, much of which will be used for infrastructure investment. National Development and Reform Commission spokesperson Meng Wei said recently that the quota of special bonds for local governments to be used for construction projects in 2022 has been fully allocated. By the end of April, about 1.4 trillion yuan of special bonds had been issued in 2023. Editor/Xu Shengpeng
On October 23, 2026, the second phase of Wanhua Laizhou Green Power Industrial Park officially started construction, and the Laizhou base entered a new stage of first phase production sprint and second phase co construction simultaneously. As a major project in Shandong Province, the industrial park covers an area of 557 acres, with a planned 650000 tons/year battery grade lithium iron phosphate plant, relying on the integrated wind solar energy storage green power system to achieve coupling of the green power industry. At present, Wanhua Lithium Iron Phosphate has achieved mass production and import of its fourth generation products, and its fifth generation products have been recognized by top customers, continuously improving the layout of the entire battery material chain. Editor/Cheng Liting
The 1.2 million tons/year ethylene plant of Shanghai Petrochemical officially started construction on October 25, 2026. As a major project in Shanghai, the total investment of the project is about 21.3 billion yuan, and it is expected to be completed by the end of October 2028. The new facility adopts Sinopec's independent intellectual property low-energy ethylene separation technology. After it is put into operation, the existing 700000 tons/year ethylene plant will be shut down, and the annual ethylene production capacity will jump to 1.2 million tons. It can provide nearly 3 million tons of high-end chemical raw materials for downstream and help promote Shanghai's new industrialization and north-south transformation. Editor/Cheng Liting