The commencement ceremony of the Shanghe Avenue project as well as the release ceremony of the urban and industrial planning of the Economic Belt of the Headquarters of Shanghe Avenue was held on Aug 28 in the China-SCO demonstration zone in Jiaozhou, a county-level city in Qingdao, Shandong province.

The Shanghe Avenue project starts construction on Aug 28. [Photo/Bandao News]

Shanghe Avenue, a main road in the China-Shanghai Cooperation Organization Demonstration Zone for Local Economic and Trade Cooperation, has a total length of 26.7 kilometers. It connects the SCO demonstration zone with Qingdao Jiaodong International Airport.

The project is scheduled to open to traffic by the end of 2023. The road has a designated speed of 60km/h, with eight lanes running in both directions.

The Economic Belt of the Headquarters of Shanghe Avenue is designed to better promote international cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative and accelerate opening-up. It will consist of nine industrial zones, covering logistics, trade, investment, tourism and culture.

Trucks are seen at the construction site for the Shanghe Avenue project. [Photo/Bandao News]

The overall plan for the construction of the China-SCO demonstration zone was passed during the ninth meeting of the central committee for deepening overall reform on July 24, 2019. The zone is designed to serve as Qingdao's new position as a pivot connecting the East and West through its land-sea transport systems. It is essential to supporting both the country's and Qingdao's international cooperation and advancing opening-up initiatives.