An aerial photo of Nanfeng town in Zhangjiagang, Suzhou, Jiangsu. [Photo/subaonet.com]

Nanfeng town in Zhangjiagang, Suzhou, East China's Jiangsu province, which is a traditional stronghold for the metallurgical industry, is working to optimize its industrial structure.

Chen Wen, the town's Party secretary, said that in addition to continuing to support the metallurgical and new materials industries, Nanfeng will develop three emerging sectors – green energy equipment, high-value industries, and port services.

Leading the charge in digitalization and green transformation is Everrising Holdings, a steelmaking company with an output value of over 100 billion yuan ($14.04 billion). In January of this year, Everrising invested 5.29 billion yuan in the construction of a low-carbon project. The project will employ new processes, technologies, and energy-efficient and environmentally friendly equipment. It is expected to enhance the company's production capacity and lead to annual sales revenue of over 8 billion yuan.

Nanfeng has also been building more facilities to accommodate high-value emerging industries. In addition to the Jiangnan Intelligent Manufacturing Industrial Park, which was transformed from a chemical park, the town is also planning to establish a 1,000-mu (66.7-hectare) innovation industrial park and an 800-mu high-end industrial park. These parks will integrate offices, research and development facilities, incubators, production centers, and high-end living amenities.

"The advantages of Nanfeng town lie in its long-term industrial planning, excellent living amenities, flexible industrial policies, and unique way of attracting investment with funds," said Xue Xiang, general manager of Getec Vehicle Technology Suzhou.

The company is currently moving production lines to its new factory in Nanfeng, which is expected to produce 50,000 sets of extended range system products, 100,000 sets of vehicle control units (VCU), and 30,000 sets of control module products.