(Yicai Global) June 17 -- Deqing, a county near Shanghai and Hangzhou in northern Zhejiang province, will build China's first municipal-level self-driving pilot zone.

The area will open its roads to autonomous driving application tests next year, China National Radio reported yesterday.

The county will complete construction of a 172-mu (11.5-hectare) closed self-driving test area in September and make available at least 900 kilometers of roadways for pilots before the end of this year and free up all of its thoroughfares by next year, the local government announced on June 15.

Local authorities will cooperate with state-backed telecom operator China Mobile Communications to achieve 5G coverage in towns by the end of this year and extend it to villages by next year to support the driverless testing.

The government will also initiate the setup of a minimum CNY5 billion (USD722 million) fund to build a smart travel sector cluster, which will be led by the government and co-invested by private capital. 

Deqing, which hosted the inaugural United Nations World Geospatial Information Congress in November, has leveraged its rural setting and proximity to China's largest city of Shanghai and Hangzhou, one of its most technologically innovative, to focus in recent years on developing artificial intelligence and automobile electrification.

Editor: Ben Armour