(Yicai) Jan. 22 -- Shanghai has launched the Lingang Science and Technology Innovation City, a project aiming to drive the industrial expansion of scientific research achievements and accelerate the commercialization of cutting-edge research advancements.

The Lingang Sci-Tech Innovation City, located in the core of the Lingang Special Area, a key testing ground for economic and trade policies within the Shanghai Free Trade Zone, will cover an area of about 6.95 square kilometers and boast coastal resources, according to a construction plan released yesterday.

The new area will develop in a complementary manner with Zhangjiang Science City, which primarily focuses on fundamental research and original innovation, jointly supporting Shanghai's development into an international center for sci-tech innovation, the plan showed.

Zhangjiang Science City has developed strong capabilities in original scientific innovation and cutting-edge basic research, Wu Xiaohua, deputy secretary of Lingang's Party Working Committee, said at a press conference for the release of the construction plan. The area's greatest strengths and advantages lie in its robust industrial foundation and open institutional environment, making it an ideal test zone for "translating original scientific research into industrial production," Wu added.

According to the construction schedule, the sci-tech innovation city will put into operation no less than seven world-class research institutions, gather no less than 2,000 high-tech companies, form four benchmark sci-tech innovation communities, and recruit over 40,000 innovative and entrepreneurial talents by the end of 2027.

In addition, it would become a key base for building Shanghai into an international hub for sci-tech innovation by 2030, with its strategic sci-tech resources further strengthened, its innovation-driven capabilities steadily enhanced, and its ability to transform sci-tech achievements significantly improved.

"Lingang contributes more than one-ninth of Shanghai's industrial output value of enterprises above designated size, drawing about a fifth of the city's manufacturing fixed-asset investment and two-fifths of major advanced manufacturing projects," Wu noted. "The strong manufacturing foundation and complete industrial ecosystem provide abundant application scenarios for sci-tech achievements, forming a unique support base for building the sci-tech innovation city."

During sci-tech achievement transformation, the "valley of death" phenomenon from tech to market often arises, Wu said. Building the Lingang Sci-Tech Innovation City aims to systematically address the bottlenecks and difficulties commonly encountered in this process, Wu stressed.

"The Shanghai government will support Lingang in carrying out more extensive reform pilot programs," said Qiu Wenjin, deputy director of the Shanghai Municipal Development and Reform Commission. "Through a series of policy measures, we will help firms in the area enhance their innovation capabilities and research achievements transformation, fostering emerging industries with core technologies to better serve Shanghai's sci-tech innovation and industrial cultivation."

"We will build Lingang into a sci-tech hub in the next five to 10 years," Wu noted. "The sci-tech innovation city is a crucial step in upgrading the area from an 'industrial hub' into an 'innovation and entrepreneurship highland."

Editors: Tang Shihua, Martin Kadiev