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BM and Cisco Systems call Beijing home. Now the plan for the Beijing Science and Technology Park Construction Company Ltd. is to recruit even more big names from the West to establish operations around China’s capital city.
The lure? Brand new, high-tech corporate campuses that are virtual “Science Cities” — clusters of futuristic-looking buildings all designed to maximize the talent of companies developing the software that runs the world’s computers or the gene sequences that can cure cancer.
At the center of the plan is the Beijing Science and Technology Park Construction Company Ltd. The company’s chief financial officer is Zhu Yijun, who is also chairman of the Chamber of Commerce of Zhongguancun Office Buildings and president of the Beijing Science Park Development Company Ltd. Li Baoxin serves as chairman of the Software Park.
The two chairmen and their colleagues — Steven Chen, assistant general manager of the Beijing Science Park Development Company Ltd.; and Zhang Yan, general economist for the Beijing Zhongguancun Software Park Development Company Ltd. — recently traveled to the United States to promote their new development. They described the two projects that form the centerpieces of their work: the Zhongguancun Science Park and the Zhongguancun Software Park.
The Software Park lies along the outer-ring highways that surround Beijing. The Science Park is located in the Center of Zhongguancun, which is the largest IT market in all of China. The Science Park also lies by the fourth loop around Beijing — the city’s main road — and is accessible by more than 40 bus lines.
In order to satisfy the multinational company’s demands and ensure the quality of the buildings, the Financial and Information Technology Center in the Science Park is being designed by KPF (www.kpf.com) of the United States. This facility offers a dedicated business environment that serves as the center of the Zhongguancun Science and Technology Plaza, the principal sustainable development project of the Beijing Municipality. The Plaza also includes a five-star hotel, conference and exhibition center complex and a supermarket.
“We have already completed the first phase of infrastructure development, and we are well under way on the second phase of construction,” says Zhu. “This project involves the redevelopment of old agricultural lands, which are being converted into high-tech sites for scientific and software development.” A greenbelt buffer is part of the overall plan.
Upon buildout, the parks will offer 610,000 sq. m. (6,566,000 sq. ft.) of high-tech office and R&D space and will accommodate up to 40,000 workers. Some 280,000 sq. m. (3,014,000 sq. ft.) of work space has already been built, including a 57,000-sq.-m. (613,562-sq.-ft.) exhibition hall. About 500 people currently work on site.
The parks are accessible by four main roads or highways, more than 40 bus lines and a planned Zhongguancun subway. More than 50 colleges such as Peking University, Tsinghua University, Renmin University of China, the University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, and the Beijing Science and Technology University all provide potential workers to companies locating in the science and software parks. The China Academy of Sciences also lies adjacent to the ZGC West Zone.
The major shareholder of the Beijing Science Park Development Company Ltd. is Beijing Science and Technology Park Construction Company Ltd.
For more details on the project, go to www.sciencepark.com.cn or email Zhu Yijun at zhuyj@sciencepark.com.cn.
