A deepwater offshore drilling platform built by COSCO (Qidong) Offshore. Qidong, a county-level city under the administration of Nantong, Jiangsu province, has made marked achievements in the marine engineering sector. [Photo by Xu Congjun/provided to China Daily]

Qidong, a county-level city in Nantong, Jiangsu province, has made great strides in upgrading its marine engineering industry in recent years.

The city's Qidong Marine Industrial Park is home to nearly 20 leading enterprises that are engaged in offshore drilling, engineering and machinery industries, including COSCO (Qidong) Off- shore, Sinopacific Offshore & Engineering and Singamas Container Holdings. In 2013, the industrial park generated sales revenue of 12.6 billion yuan ($2 billion).

Investment by the enterprises has topped 30 billion yuan, covering such industries as off- shore engineering, shipbuilding and marine equipment.

Located on the east of the Yangtze River's mouth to the Yellow Sea, Qidong boasts an ideal geographic location to develop the marine equipment manufacturing industry. The city has sped up upgrading its industrial chain and strived to build itself into a national marine and heavy equipment industrial base.

On June 8, Shanghai Zhenhua Heavy Industries, China’s largest heavy machinery maker that is also known as ZPMC, signed an agreement with CCCC Tianjin Dredging for building a self-propelled cutter suction dredger, which is expected to be the most advanced in the world.

On May 28, Sinopacific Offshore & Engineering delivered its first 27,500-cubic- meter multipurpose liquefied gas carrier to Evergas, a Denmark-based transporter of petrochemical gases and natural gas liquids, at Sinopacific’s headquarters in Shanghai.

The carrier was manufactured at the company’s Qidong production base, which also manufactures carriers for transportation of liquefied petroleum and liquefied ethylene gases. The company has become a major manufacturer of LPG, LEG and LNG carriers glob- ally after it was restructured and renamed in 2010.

On May 29, Jiangsu Watts Offshore & Engineering, a 2-billion-yuan joint venture cofunded by Shanghai Watts Gallop Holding Group and JACCAR Holdings, launched a large-scale liquid container project.

JACCAR Holdings is a privately owned French investment company with a total owned fleet of more than 550 vessels. The project is expected to produce six liquid containers for 85,000-cubic-meter very large ethane carriers every year, making the joint venture a global leader in this sector.

Other large-scale enterprises have also expanded operations or increased investment to cater to demand for rapid development.

In January 2014, Shanghai Zhenhua Heavy Indus- tries founded ZPMC Qidong Offshore & Engineering by acquiring 67 percent of shares in Daoda Offshore Engineering Heavy Industries.

Also in January last year, Hongqiang Heavy Industry invested 1.8 billion yuan in upgrading its shipways, out- fitting quay and production workshop. The company’s annual revenue is expected to reach 4 billion yuan after the upgrade is complete.

COSCO (Qidong) Offshore delivered a semisubmersible accommodation vessel for a customer in March. The vessel, named Hope 7, can accommodate 490 people. Its cylindrical design features advanced technology that ensures stability, safety and reliable operations in various conditions, according to the company.

In January, the company delivered the N511, a semi- submersible accommodation and service platform, to COTEMAR. The platform, one of the most advanced vessels of its kind, is 95 meters long and 67 meters wide. It can accommodate up to 990 people.

Honghua Offshore Oil & Gas (Jiangsu) Equipment is building the world's largest portal crane at the Yangtze River mouth. The crane will be able to lift up to 22,000 metric tons once complete, according to the company.

By Ding Congrong and Huang Hai.