Wang Zhonglin, Party chief of Jinan, delivers a keynote speech at the ground-breaking ceremony for the Jinan industrial base of SDIIT on Nov 30. [Photo/sdiit.cn]

The Jinan industrial base of Shandong Institutes of Industrial Technology (SDIIT) broke ground on Nov 30.

With an investment of 8.5 billion yuan ($1.21 billion), the industrial base covers an area of 188,000 square meters and will focus on developing intelligent manufacturing and high-tech industries.

It is designed to be a comprehensive platform integrating official business, research and exhibition in Shandong province.

The achievements that SDIIT has made since it was launched four month ago were summarized at the ground-breaking ceremony.

The SDIIT signs cooperative agreements with nine Shandong universities on Nov 30. [Photo/sdiit.cn]

According to Sun Dianyi, director of SDIIT, the institute has introduced more than 100 high-tech projects and a total of 19 high-tech companies were registered at the institute. It also attracted over 5 billion yuan in investment from outside the province.

The institute has built 23 innovation platforms which have helped it achieve strong results in the fields of space electronic information, artificial intelligence, advanced materials, and cloud computing.

Wang Zhonglin, Party secretary of Jinan, spoke highly of the institute's achievements and said it had a vital role to play in promoting innovation in the province and aiding in the transition to new growth driver.

The Jinan government will make more efforts to create a favorable environment to bolster the construction and development of SDIIT and accelerate the construction of the Jinan industrial base.