On Oct 31, during the launch ceremony of the 2024 Fall Economic and Trade Event at the Taicang Port Economic and Technological Development Zone (ETDZ), agreements were signed to build a total of 39 projects in the zone.

An aerial view of Taicang Port. [Photo/WeChat account: tcfbgw]

The projects have a total investment of 5.19 billion yuan ($728.51 million), with two projects each exceeding an investment of 1 billion yuan. The projects cover a wide range of fields, including aerospace, biomedicine, port and shipping services, modern trade and logistics, science and technology talent, and cultural tourism.

The event also witnessed the inauguration of Westlake Global Compounds' new materials project. Westlake Global Compounds is a Fortune 500 company and one of the top 10 chemical enterprises in the United States. With a total investment of $75 million, this project focuses on the localized research, development, production, and sales of advanced engineering plastics for automotive and medical device applications. Its primary clients include major automakers such as Volkswagen, Great Wall Motor, and BMW, and it is expected to achieve an annual industrial output value of 500 million yuan.

Additionally, the event marked the groundbreaking ceremony for Jiangsu Puluotai Biotech Co's super soy protein project. With a total investment of 2.5 billion yuan, this project employs a globally leading and unique production process. It is expected to produce 300,000 metric tons of super soy isolate protein, soy fiber, soy oligosaccharides, and soy peptides annually, generating an annual sales revenue of over 8 billion yuan.