The roar of machinery and the forest of tower cranes fill the air, as material trucks and watering trucks shuttle back and forth. With the morning sun rising, workers are busily engaged at their posts, racing against time. Right after the Double Festivals, the construction site of the Lai’an Agricultural Products Cold Chain Logistics Industrial Park is bustling with activity, all working to meet the deadline.
“The cold chain logistics industrial park project comprises several functional areas including logistics dispatch center, cold chain logistics, logistics warehousing, R&D workshops, administrative offices, and e-commerce. Since the project started in November last year, we have maintained an ‘every moment counts’ mindset, insisting on simultaneous construction in multiple areas, seizing the golden period of project construction to accelerate progress,” said Xuan Shangguang, deputy general manager of Lai’an Culture and Tourism Investment. As of now, the main structures of the R&D workshops, logistics warehouses, and cold chain logistics warehouses are basically completed. By the end of October this year, the plot initially used for earthwork storage will also begin construction.
“The project is scheduled to be completed by April next year, with tight schedules and heavy tasks,” Xuan Shangguang added. To ensure the timely delivery of the industrial park, 90% of the workers gave up their holidays during the Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day, staying on the front line of the project, continuously advancing the construction progress. “I come from a rural background and understand the hardships of farmers. We are putting in extra effort to complete the industrial park sooner, which will better help our farmer brothers turn their agricultural products into real profits,” said Li, a construction worker at the industrial park.
Lai’an, located at the junction of Jiangsu and Anhui provinces, is a traditional agricultural county. In recent years, leveraging the large market of the Yangtze River Delta and rich natural resources, the county has encouraged and guided towns and villages to develop industries such as vegetables, aquaculture, poultry, and livestock. The county boasts six national-level vegetable standard parks, two provincial-level green agricultural product production and processing supply bases for the Yangtze River Delta, and one municipal-level specialty agricultural product advantage zone. In 2022, the county’s total aquatic product output reached 31,000 tons, with a total fishery economic output value of 228 million yuan. To expand the domestic market for agricultural products, the county has established various unique business models like “e-commerce enterprises + bases + farmers” and “e-commerce service stations + farmers.” This year alone, the county has sold approximately 337 million yuan worth of agricultural products through various e-commerce platforms.
“Lai’an has abundant high-quality fresh agricultural products, unique geographical advantages, and a solid foundation in trade and logistics. Developing cold chain logistics in Lai’an’s logistics area, which is a key development zone led by the Chuzhou city government, is an inevitable trend,” said Zhang Jiabing, deputy director of the Key Project Construction Management Service Center of Lai’an County. The Lai’an Agricultural Products Cold Chain Logistics Industrial Park project is a key project managed by the Provincial Development and Reform Commission, with a total investment of 640 million yuan. It is based in Lai’an, serving the Chuzhou region and radiating to the Yangtze River Delta. The project covers an area of 131,821.2 square meters, with a planned total building area of 142,160 square meters. The construction tasks of the project are more than halfway completed, and it is expected to be fully completed by April 2024.
“With cold storage facilities, we can extend the freshness period of agricultural products, reduce transportation loss rates, and significantly lower the transportation costs of agricultural products through centralized distribution,” Zhang Jiabing explained. Once completed, the project will provide crucial infrastructure support for upgrading Lai’an’s agricultural products cold chain logistics industry. It will also open up channels for urban and rural distribution, e-commerce integration, trade circulation, and cold chain logistics distribution, achieving the integrated development of smart logistics and trade services, and promoting the modernization of agricultural product circulation and high-quality agricultural development.
Upon completion, the industrial park will cover the major production and sales areas of Chuzhou, serving the upstream and downstream enterprises of the agricultural product supply chain. It will facilitate the aggregation, distribution, and delivery of agricultural products, promoting better “inbound and outbound” flow of agricultural products. The project is expected to achieve an annual transaction volume of over 1 billion yuan and provide over 1,000 jobs.
