Aerial photo taken on Aug 18, 2020 shows the Hengqin Port in South China's Guangdong province, across Macao. (PHOTO / XINHUA)

The signing ceremony of 12 key projects in the Guangdong-Macao In-depth Cooperation Zone in Hengqin, including four from the Macao special administrative region, was held on Monday.

Of the four Macao-funded projects, three are industrial projects related to integrated circuits, biomedicine and traditional Chinese medicine. The other is the Guangdong-Macao semiconductor fund project.

The remaining eight are mostly related to scientific research and high-end manufacturing, including Airbus Helicopters’ China headquarters.

Of the four Macao-funded projects, three are industrial projects related to integrated circuits, biomedicine and traditional Chinese medicine. The other is the Guangdong-Macao semiconductor fund project

“The signing of the key projects is a showcase of the investment promotion achievements made by Hengqin since its establishment. It is also a showcase of the progress made in pushing forward the diversified development of Macao’s economy, which reflects the strong attractiveness of Hengqin,” said Li Ziwei, acting director of the cooperation zone’s economic development bureau.

Meanwhile, four projects related to public well-being were unveiled at the same event, which cover such areas as education, healthcare, parent-child services and housekeeping.

For example, a primary school and a kindergarten will be set up in the zone to ease the shortage of places in public schools. A parent-child activities center with Macao characteristics will also be built in Hengqin, bringing the SAR’s high-quality services to the zone.

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Feng Fangdan, acting deputy director of the livelihood affairs bureau of the cooperation zone, said Hengqin will continue to increase visits and exchanges between the zone and Macao’s government departments and communities to strive to create better living space and conditions for Macao residents.

Also on the same day, the workplace for special customs supervision in Henqin began construction officially. Covering a floor area of over 245,000 square meters, the project includes seven sites, with total investment of nearly 600 million yuan ($94 million). It is expected to be completed by the end of June next year.

sally@chinadailyhk.com