Aerial photo taken on Sept. 9, 2022 shows a distributed photovoltaic (PV) power station on the rooftop of the Xiong'an Railway Station in Xiong'an New Area, north China's Hebei Province. (Xinhua/Xing Guangli)
BEIJING, Sept. 21 (Xinhua) -- The construction of Xiong'an New Area has completed 400 billion yuan (57.55 billion U.S. dollars) of investment after China announced plans to establish the new area in 2017, the country's top economic planner said Tuesday.
Construction of Xiong'an now can provide about 100,000 jobs and up to 200,000 jobs during peak hiring seasons, said Cao Yuanmeng, an official from the National Development and Reform Commission, at a press conference.
The new area spans the counties of Xiongxian, Rongcheng, and Anxin in Hebei and is home to Baiyangdian, a major wetland in northern China.
Progress has been made in restoring the ecological environment.
Photo taken on July 22, 2022 shows Baer's pochards and white-eyed pochards in Baiyangdian Lake in Xiong'an New Area, north China's Hebei Province. (Xinhua/Xing Guangli)
The water quality in Baiyangdian has improved from Grade V, the lowest level of China's five-tier water assessment system, to Grade III, said Cao.
Located about 100 km southwest of Beijing, the new area will help advance the coordinated development of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region. It has been designed as a major recipient of functions relieved from Beijing that are nonessential to its role as China's capital and to explore a new development model in densely populated areas. ■
