Tri-city circle aims for 1.4 trillion economy by 2027

Hubei provincial government announced a plan on March 4 to develop the Yichang-Jingzhou-Jingmen Metropolitan Circle. By 2027, the core area of the circle is expected to have a permanent resident population of 9.4 million and a total economic volume of 1.4 trillion yuan (US$203.7 billion).

 

The core area of the tri-city circle includes Yichang City and its Yidu, Zhijiang, Danyang, Yuan'an and Zigui areas; Jingzhou City and its Songzi, Gong’an, Jiangling areas as well as Jingmen City. The Enshi Autonomous Prefecture and the remaining parts of Yichang and Jingzhou cities are defined as “coordinated development” areas of the circle.

 

Map of Hubei’s three mega city circle plans.
 

Hubei has announced its eventual plan for three mega city circles, the other two being Xianyang City Metropolitan Circle and Wuhan City Metropolitan Circle.

 

The tri-city circle plan has set out five core tasks, including improving transportation infrastructure, enhancing coordinated river basin management, upgrading industrial structures, improving quality of life and opening up the circle’s market both domestically and globally.

 

Geographically, Yichang, Jingzhou and Jingmen form a triangle, and the distance between any two of them is about 100 km. According to China’s Seventh National Population Census, the three cities’ total population reaches over 10 million, equivalent to a mega-city.

 

At present, the three cities’ downtown area is an hour drive away. According to the plan, by 2025, the smaller cities within the circle should be no more than 30 minutes’ away through rail transport and no more than a one hour drive away by highway. Neighboring towns should be no more than a 30 minute drive away from each other via highway.

 

In terms of industry, the area has developed and will continue to promote the growth of key  industries such as chemicals, equipment manufacturing, agricultural product processing and biomedicine.

 

In 2022, the total economic volume of the area reached 107.126 billion yuan, with 85  projects coordinated among the three cities achieving a total investment of 45 billion yuan.

 

Over the next three years, the three cities will kick off 128 additional partnering projects with a combined investment of 55 billion yuan.