Construction of the OCT Harbor project of Shenzhen-based Overseas Chinese Town (OCT) Group started on Tiaoshun Island in Zhanjiang on June 30.

The project marks a new stage for Zhanjiang's cultural tourism industry, injecting strong momentum into the high-quality development of the city's cultural tourism industry and consolidating its position as a regional center of science, education, and culture.

The OCT Harbor is located at the southern tip of Tiaoshun Island, with the sea on three sides. It will cover an area of 718 mu (47.87 hectares), and have a total investment of nearly 8 billion yuan ($1.13 billion).

It involves the construction of the Zhanjiang Cultural Center, which will include a grand theater, an art museum, a museum, a bookstore, and a cultural creative block, as well as starred hotels and an international community.

In recent years, the Zhanjiang municipal government has been accelerating the optimization and upgrading of its industrial structure, promoting the development of the cultural tourism industry with a more open-minded view and more innovative thinking, which provides a high-quality development platform for OCT, said Zhang Liyong, vice general manager of OCT Group.

Zhang added that OCT Group would complete the construction of the OCT Harbor in Zhanjiang with high standards, high quality, and high speed, assisting in the city's goals to be a sub-center of the province and to build a modern coastal economic belt.

The OCT Harbor project was planned during the 11th Five-Year Plan (2006-10), and an agreement was signed in 2018.

Construction of the OCT Harbor project of Shenzhen-based Overseas Chinese Town (OCT) Group starts on Tiaoshun Island in Zhanjiang on June 30. [Photo by Lang Shuchen and Liu Jicheng/gdzjdaily.com.cn]