The集中 groundbreaking ceremony for major projects in Yichang City for April 2021 was held in Xianting District.

On April 24, the Hubei Electronic Chemicals Special Zone and the centralized commencement ceremony for major projects in Yichang City for April 2021 were held in Chuanting District. Eleven key projects with a total investment of 10.03 billion yuan were officially launched. Among them, the Hubei Electronic Chemicals Special Zone, unveiled on the same day, is the second such zone nationwide and the first in the central region. It was established as part of Yichang’s active efforts to break through the international blockade and address the “bottleneck” issue in integrated circuits. Wang Li, Secretary of the Municipal Party Committee, announced the full-scale commencement of the projects, while Ma Zejiang, Deputy Secretary of the Municipal Party Committee and Acting Mayor, presided over the commencement ceremony.

Event venue

Shi Ying, Secretary-General of the China Integrated Circuit Materials Alliance, delivered a speech. Zhang Wenming, a second-level inspector at the Raw Materials Industry Department of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, and Zou Chunhua, a second-level inspector at the Provincial Development and Reform Commission, unveiled the Hubei Specialty Zone for Electronic Chemicals. Cui Xuejun, Party Secretary and Editor-in-Chief of China Chemical Industry News, attended the event.

Zhang Wenming, a second-level inspector at the Raw Materials Industry Department of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, and Zou Chunhua, a second-level inspector at the Provincial Development and Reform Commission, unveiled the Hubei Specialty Zone for Electronic Chemicals.

At the construction site, Wang Li listened to a briefing on the day’s ongoing projects, with particular emphasis on the planning and layout of the Hubei Specialty Zone for Electronic Chemicals as well as its construction timeline. The head of Xingfa Group explained that the zone has already completed the construction of a 105,000-ton-per-year facility for wet electronic chemicals, laying a solid technological and industrial foundation for accelerating the zone’s development. Wang Li expressed his appreciation for this progress and urged the enterprise to truly play its role as an innovation leader, strengthening innovation in technology, product development, management, and other areas to propel Yichang’s chemical industry toward higher-end manufacturing. It is crucial to focus on talent—the key driving force—and attract high-level, innovative professionals. We must fully leverage the leading enterprises’ role in driving growth, integrating resources such as technology, capital, markets, and talent, and intensifying efforts to attract investment through business partnerships. This will encourage more high-quality upstream and downstream enterprises to come and develop in Yichang, continuously strengthening, supplementing, and extending industrial chains to achieve cluster-based development. Wang Li also hoped that the Qingteng District and relevant departments would earnestly act as “service-minded assistants,” creating an even better environment to accelerate project implementation.

City Party Secretary Wang Li announced the full launch of the event.

Speaking at the groundbreaking ceremony, Ma Zejiang said that the projects being launched in this centralized commencement event feature large investments and high quality. In particular, the Hubei Specialty Zone for Electronic Chemicals, once completed, will effectively break through the “bottleneck” in the supply of high-purity wet electronic chemicals for semiconductors. He expressed hope that project owners and construction units would organize their work scientifically and ensure safe construction practices, thereby accelerating project completion, early production, and quick results. All levels and departments across the city should continue to uphold the spirit of "striving hard, seizing opportunities, and being pragmatic," further intensifying efforts in attracting investment and advancing project construction. By making more substantial and higher-quality investments, we can ensure a strong start and an outstanding year ahead, providing robust support for Yichang’s commitment to "achieving practical results, taking the lead, and serving as the engine of development."

Ma Zejiang, Deputy Secretary of the Municipal Party Committee and Acting Mayor, presided over the groundbreaking ceremony.

In his speech, Shi Ying stated that the Hubei Electronic Chemicals Special Zone, with its planned and constructed material varieties, already accounts for over 60% of the market share in materials used for integrated circuit manufacturing. The zone is well-positioned to develop into a world-class electronic materials base boasting a comprehensive range of products and a fully integrated industrial ecosystem. Building the Hubei Electronic Chemicals Special Zone effectively will provide foundational material support for Hubei’s electronic information industry and will also extend its influence to integrated circuit enterprises in Sichuan, Chongqing, Anhui, and other regions. This initiative is of great significance for perfecting the supply chain and establishing a leading domestic and internationally first-class electronic chemicals industrial base. We hope that, with the support of all sectors in Hubei Province and led by Xingfa Group, we can shoulder the important responsibility of developing the high-end electronic chemicals industry and providing robust support for the national integrated circuit industry, thereby making outstanding contributions to the faster and better development of China’s integrated circuit industry.

Speech by Shi Ying, Secretary-General of the National Integrated Circuit Materials Industry Technology Innovation Alliance

It is understood that electronic chemicals are crucial raw materials for semiconductor manufacturing processes and also rank among the “bottleneck” products hindering the localization of chip production. The Hubei Electronic Chemicals Special Zone is planned to cover an area of 1,500 mu, with a total investment of approximately 5 billion yuan and a construction period of 58 months. The zone will focus primarily on R&D, technological breakthroughs, and industrialization in areas such as wet electronic chemicals, electronic-grade special gases, electronic-grade electroplating solutions, and electronic-grade silicon materials. The projects—including electronic-grade etching solutions, electronic-grade hydrogen peroxide, electronic-grade sulfuric acid, and electronic-grade hydrofluoric acid—along with the zone’s intelligent management system, roads, and pipeline networks, represent a total investment of 2 billion yuan. Upon completion, the zone will have an annual production capacity of 550,000 tons, enabling it to replace imported electronic chemicals across the board and establishing itself as a first-class R&D and production base for electronic chemicals in China.

At this major project commencement event, the 10 projects simultaneously launched in Xingtang District primarily cover areas such as aerospace manufacturing, biopharmaceuticals, modern logistics, and rural revitalization.

Wang Guobin, Director of the Standing Committee of the Municipal People’s Congress, and Song Wenbao, Chairman of the Municipal Political Consultative Conference, along with municipal leaders Chen Huixia and Wang Yinghua, and Jiang Zhengxiong, Secretary-General of the Municipal Government, attended the groundbreaking ceremony.