- Details
-
Category: Other News
-
Published: Tuesday, 14 February 2012 11:40
In the past five years, Ningbo has achieved remarkable results in traffic infrastructure construction including highway, railway, aviation and shipping. Investment in traffic construction is booming with a total input of 74.76 billion yuan within 5 years.
Highway
With the accomplishment of Hangzhou Bay Bridge, Zhoushan Mainland-Islands Linking Project and Ningbo Round-city Expressway, Ningbo has equipped with a well-developed highway system, shortening the journey to any city in the Yangtze River Delta to 2 hours' ride. Currently, the total length of highways open to traffic reached 415 km and the total length of road has reached 10,455 km, with 937 kilometers as arterial road. Road density (km per 100 sq. km area) is reported as 106.5, reaching the level of moderately developed countries. At present, except several villages on islands, all the administrative villages in Ningbo can be accessed by regular buses.
Rail
The construction of the Ningbo-Taizhou-Wenzhou Railway has changed the Ningbo unfavorable position as a terminal of railway to that of a regional hub. The total length of railway reaches 259.31 km, with 93.3 kilometers as newly built railway. Through the Xiaoshan-Ningbo line, a railway network has formed, connecting Zhenhai, Beilun Port with Zhejiang - Jiangxi line and Shanghai-Hangzhou line.
Shipping
In 2007, the container throughput of Ningbo Port was 9 million TEUs and the cargo throughput stood at 344 million tonnes. Until last year, the container throughput has reached 14.51 million TEU while the cargo throughput reached 433 million tones, resulting in Ningbo's current ranking in terms of container volume move up to the third place nationwide and sixth place worldwide. Currently, The port has a network consisting of 236 shipping lanes, covering over 600 ports in more than 100 countries in the world. The indirect hinterland of Ningbo Port has expanded to Anhui Province, Jiangxi Province, Hubei Province, Hunan Province and Sichuan Province, making Ningbo port a main line port for ocean-going container transport.
Services
Improvement of transportation facilities goes long with better services. Ningbo bus stations offers the online booking system and telephone booking system, which enable passengers to make payment at home and collect tickets in a nearby bus station. Meanwhile, the railway station, the taxi company and airport also offer new services to enhance the convenience for the public
- Details
-
Category: Ningbo News
-
Published: Tuesday, 14 February 2012 11:37
According to a news briefing held by Ningbo Municipal Education Bureau on Feb 7, in 2012 the municipal government will set regulations on identification and management of non-governmental inclusive kindergartens. The upcoming regulation aims to bring down the tuition fees of inclusive private kindergartens to the same level of the public counterparts. "In this way, the tuition fees of some private kindergartens will be reduced. This will be an important move in the field of education in Ningbo this year." an official from Ningbo Municipal Education Bureau said.
Of the 1197 kindergartens in Ningbo, more than 900 are private kindergartens, with public kindergartens only accounting for 20 percent. It is learned that most private kindergartens, with inadequate facilities and teaching resources, charge more than public ones. In 2012, Ningbo Municipal Education Bureau pledged to give support to certain private kindergartens.
Sources said that the special funds for pre-school education in 2011 rose from 10 million yuan to 30 million yuan. The figure will rise to 50 million in 2012, with 20 million yuan intended to be used in support of private inclusive kindergarten.
Meanwhile, the municipal government vows to improve the quality of rural kindergartens in relatively less developed areas by increasing the input in pre-school education. Legally, there shall be at least one public kindergarten in each township. According to the plan, 100 rural kindergartens in relatively less developed areas shall be renovated and all the rural kindergarten in Ningbo shall be qualified and standardized.
In 2011, 80 kindergartens were renovated and expanded. In 2012, the municipal government will continue to improve the quality of pre-school resources, with another 80 kindergartens to be renovated and expanded according to the plan.
- Details
-
Category: Ningbo Business
-
Published: Tuesday, 14 February 2012 11:37
Recently, a shipping company in Hong Kong has obtained 135 million yuan loans from the Export-Import Bank of China Ningbo Branch, initiating the first cross-border RMB loans in Ningbo.
In November 2011, the Export-Import Bank of China Ningbo Branch signed a RMB loan contract with the Hong Kong shipping company. The loans, taking the form of export buyer's credit, shall be used to pay a Ningbo shipbuilder. In December 2011 and January 2012, the bank has issued 101 million yuan and 34 million yuan loans respectively to the Hong Kong shipping company.
The major cross-border RMB loan enables buyers and sellers to avoid the losses they might otherwise have incurred due to exchange rate changes. In addition, it opens a new financing channel for overseas buyers.
It is learned that the People's Bank released guidance of RMB loans of overseas projects in October 2011, clarifying the specific procedures of the cross-border RMB loans. The experts believe that the cross-border RMB loans service not only promotes the internationalization of the RMB but also offers more support to foreign trade enterprises in Ningbo.
- Details
-
Category: Ningbo News
-
Published: Tuesday, 14 February 2012 11:36
The Wireless City Project, which offers free wireless service in public places, is not only a move to improve the competitiveness of Ningbo but also an important livelihood projects for the general public. In 2012, the local government of Haishu District, in corporation with three mobile operators, has kicked off "the optical wireless city construction", aiming to achieve full coverage of commercial buildings, commercial blocks, and other major public areas by the end of 2012. Many internet-users expressed a strong interest in the service.
In July 2011, the local government has signed a strategic cooperation agreement with Ningbo Branch of China Mobile on Wireless City Project. As the leading operator, Ningbo Branch of China Mobile shall invest 70 million yuan, offering wireless service for 235 hot spots including government offices, public service buildings and other public places. At present, more than 150 hot spots have been on service. "The public wireless network is more than an easy access to internet. With it, people can enjoy convenient intelligent services like traffic guidance, travel management, bus schedule, etc." said Chan Kam Feng, deputy manager of Ningbo Branch of China Mobile.
"There is huge market potential for the wireless businesses in the urban center, with lots of commercial complexes and office-buildings." an official from Ningbo Branch of China Telecom said. He added that they plan to invest 150 million yuan in Haishu in the next two years, optimizing and expanding wireless coverage.
"Local residents or tourists would have free access to wireless network any time at any place in urban center like Tianyi Square, and Heyi Road with their computer or smart mobile phone, as long as their machines supports WiFi Internet access, " an official from Haishu Economic and Information Technology Bureau said. According to the plan, the local government will pay China Mobile, China Telecom and China Unicom for the wireless services they provide. Wireless urban construction still has a long way to go. More efforts will be made to expand and optimize the network