Officials from the port city of Zhangjiagang in Suzhou, East China's Jiangsu province, sign a cooperative agreement with Beijing E-Hualu Information Technology Company June 16. [Photo/Official WeChat account: zjgcitynews]

Beijing eHualu Information Technology Company will join hands with Zhangjiagang government to build a Data Lake with investment of 10.8 billion yuan ($1.5 billion) in Zhangjiagang in Suzhou, East China's Jiangsu province, with the aim of promoting the city's digital economy, according to details provided at a signing ceremony in Zhangjiagang June 16.

The Zhangjiagang Data Lake will be built in three phases in Zhangjiagang High-speed Rail New Town.

The first phase will occupy 5 hectares and include a data room, an innovation and entrepreneurship center, and a data center for disaster preparedness. It is expected that the total storage capacity of the first phase will reach 600 PB.

Pan Guoqiang, Party secretary of Zhangjiagang, said that the city will be a key pivot city in the Yangtze River Delta (YRD) region as it lies at the intersection of Nantong-Shanghai and Nantong-Suzhou-Jiaxing-Nongbo railways.

Currently, the city is making great efforts to accelerate the development of strategic emerging industries such as new energy vehicles, hydrogen energy and the digital economy. The construction of the Zhangjiagang Data Lake will play a leading role in the city's economic transformation, Pan said.

Lin Yongjun, president of the company, said that they will introduce more high-end talents and advanced technologies to Zhangjiagang to enhance the Data Lake's role as an economic catalyst in the YRD region.