Developed and constructed by Shanghai-based IGIC, the first national science and technology business incubator in the Lin-gang Special Area, the Lin-gang Science and Technology Innovation 2.0 project – an industry park focusing on the incubation of enterprises – started construction on Jan 16.

With a total investment of 1.9 billion yuan ($265 million), the project – located in the special area, in East China's Shanghai – involves the reconstruction and expansion of the original first-phase park on the demolished site, increasing its floor area ratio from 2.0 to 3.0.

The project will construct a new 142,000-square-meter research and development building and support facilities. These will consist of two R&D towers, with 18 floors and 15 floors respectively, as well as a five-story podium building featuring functions for business conferences, retail and service outlets.

On completion, the new park will upgrade from a 100,000-sq-m incubator to a 190,000-sq-m modern industrial park, providing more space for industry cultivation, R&D and incubations.

Zhang Guozhong, deputy director of the Shanghai Science and Technology Entrepreneurship Center, said that incubators are crucial carriers for building regional sci-tech innovation systems, transferring and commercializing sci-tech achievements and incubating hardcore technology-empowered enterprises.

"At present, the paradigm for innovation services is undergoing new changes," Zhang said.

"Shanghai is focusing on high-tech innovation, disruptive transformation of sci-tech achievements, incubation of key enterprises and the integration of all-factor resources," he added.

In 2016, the Lin-gang Science and Technology Innovation project became the first national incubator for sci-tech enterprises in the Lin-gang Special Area.

Based on the strategic tasks and functional positioning of the area, the industrial park has revved up its efforts to build a gradient incubation system for enterprises – and achieve the transformation from aggregating enterprises to nurturing industries.

Xie Jihua, chairman of IGIC, noted that the 2.0 project was not just a simple reconstruction and expansion exercise, but was a crucial step to transforming itself from traditional incubation to industrial incubation.

The park will aim to gather the latest global technological achievements and help to turn the Lin-gang Special Area into a hub-boosting, dual-circulation development paradigm. It will also aim to enhance the innovation capacity of the industry supply chain, ensure capital funding and attract top talent from China and abroad.

A design drawing of the Lin-gang Science and Technology Innovation 2.0 project. [Photo/WeChat ID: shlgguanweihui]