A bird's-eye view of Jinan, the capital city of Shandong province. [Photo/IC]

East China's Shandong province has set ambitious development goals over the next year with an emphasis on the development of Jinan metropolitan circle. 

Several key areas were outlined for development within the Jinan metropolitan circle in an effort to strengthen the capital city and enhance the synergy between Jinan, Zibo, Tai'an, Liaocheng, Dezhou and Binzhou.  

Infrastructure inter-connectivity, such as a high-speed rail and a cross-region heating project, will be developed, and a comprehensive transportation network centered on the Jinan-Qingdao High-speed Railway will be established.

Efforts will also be made to create a scientific innovation corridor along the Jiaozhou-Jinan Railway and a world-class advanced manufacturing cluster, according to the report.

In addition, Jinan will enhance the development of a Science and Innovation City, accelerate the development of major scientific facilities and fully support the development of the first national laboratory base and provincial laboratories.

The city will also focus on future industries such as the metaverse, life sciences and future networks. Efforts will be made to foster growth in emerging sectors such as electromagnetism, gene editing, and synthetic biology, with the aim of mking Jinan a leader in future industries.