An advanced equipment production project partially invested in by Tsinghua Holdings Capital broke ground on June 30 in the Weifang Hi-Tech Industrial Development Zone.

The site is scheduled to start production later this year, according to the investment company.

One of the highlights of the project is that it only took 18 days for investors to announce the groundbreaking after agreements were signed between the zone's government and the investors of the project.

"We did not rush to make decisions, though the time it took to make the final decision was short," said Wang Shaoxiong, from Tsinghua Holdings and who is in charge of the equipment production project.

Wang said the project's operators were well-informed about the development of the Weifang Hi-Tech Industrial Development Zone, which helped them to make a detailed evaluation about the zone according to their investment standards.

"We (Tsinghua Holdings Capital) also compared the zone with many other regions, and we believe it is the most desired investment destination," Wang said.

In recent years, the zone has been working to innovate on its investment attraction model and has been keen to partner with leading investment companies to more effectively identify industrial leaders to support its long-term growth.

Local officials said investment companies are more professional in identifying and evaluating top businesses in industries compared to governments.

After evaluating a series of surveys and studies, the zone established the investment company Weifang Hi-Tech Zone Guochuang Investment to launch a fund of funds, or FOF, to attract investment.

Meanwhile, the zone has cooperated with fund management companies such as China Creation Ventures and Tsinghua Holdings to launch structural funds.

Beijing-based TSC Laser Technology Development is another company attracted to the zone under the new investment attraction model.

The company specializes in 3D printing technology. Its products are mainly used in fields such as aviation and aerospace. Headquartered in Beijing, the company has branches in Shenyang of Liaoning province, Xi'an of Shaanxi province and Tianjin municipality.

The TSC project in Weifang, which started construction in March, will be put into production at the end of October. Its industrial output value is expected to be more than 20 million yuan ($2.9 million) in 2019, according to the company.

Wang said he was impressed by the zone's government's working efficiency during their first meeting.

"On that day, all parties involved in the project, including Weifang Hi-Tech Zone Guochuang Investment, Weifang Hi-Tech Innovation and government departments such as urban planning, gathered together to discuss the project," said Wang.

Supported by the zone, the project received initial approval from the local government in only one day, compared with one or two weeks in previous years. Teleconferences and video conferences enabled all project-related personnel to be on call at all times.

Shortly after the groundbreaking ceremony, government departments started a new round of work to ensure construction of the project goes smoothly.

"Capital investors link a project with the local government. But a lot of preparations in advance are also important for the project," said Hu Jie, general manager of Weifang Hi-Tech Zone Guochuang Investment.

According to Hu, though the processing time is shortened, the zone's government still applies strict standards in processing investment applications.