Tonglu county in Hangzhou holds a ceremony to mark the start of construction on 30 projects and the signing of 19 new projects on April 2. [Photo/zj.zjol.com.cn]

Tonglu county in Hangzhou held a ceremony to mark the start of construction on 30 projects and the signing of 19 new projects on April 2.

The combined projects are expected to receive more than 19 billion yuan ($2.86b).

Entrepreneurs attending the ceremony included Lai Meisong, chairman of ZTO Express, Nie Tengyun, chairman of Yunda Holding, Guo Jianjun, chairman of Zhongqi Commercial Vehicle (Hangzhou), and Wang Liyong, vice-president of Yintai Land Group, who brought large investment projects. Notably, Lai and Nie are both natives of Tonglu.

Projects from the four companies received a combined investment of 7.6 billion yuan.

"The local government provides us with a sound investment climate," Nie said, with a specific reference to the ecological environment, the vitality of the county and its innovation-oriented atmosphere.

In addition to the projects introduced by the two delivery companies ZTO and Yunda, another logistics project - the China centralized trade and procurement platform for logistics equipment and materials - was also a highlight.

Construction on the platform, which received 100 million yuan in investment, is expected to be completed by the end of April. Once completed, it is expected to generate 10 billion yuan in trade value.

In addition to the logistics industry, other projects involved manufacturing, basic infrastructure, people's livelihoods and heath care.

Officials said that among the 19 newly-signed projects, there were 12 projects receiving 100 million yuan in investment each, six projects receiving 1 billion yuan in investment each and two projects receiving 3 billion yuan each.

Business representatives sign projects at the ceremony in Tonglu on April 2. [Photo/zj.zjol.com.cn]