Major projects are the "ballast stone" of high-quality economic and social development. In the first half of this year, Shandong, based on the reserve and planning of key projects and focusing on attracting major industrial projects, achieved the goal of driving effective investment growth with high-quality projects. Recently, the provincial government issued the "Several Policy Measures on Further Promoting Steady and Positive Economic Development and Improving Quality in Progress," once again focusing on accelerating project construction, proposing 7 targeted measures to clear bottlenecks in the cycle and enhance the driving force of economic development.
　　The "Several Policy Measures" starts from the demand side and, centering on the three major fields of transportation, water conservancy, and energy, proposes supportive policies and promotion measures by category. Zhang Nianming, director of the Institute of Economics of the Shandong Academy of Social Sciences, believes that policy measures such as carrying out mid-term adjustments to provincial key projects, bringing in a batch of high-quality projects that can start construction as soon as possible, comprehensively accelerating the construction of major infrastructure projects such as high-speed rail, airports, and water conservancy, and speeding up the construction of large clean energy bases will further promote stable business operations, give play to the "ballast stone" role of major projects, and provide good support for steady economic development with improved quality.
　　Transportation infrastructure is an important foundation and precursor for economic development. In the first half of the year, the province completed 163.5 billion yuan of investment in comprehensive transportation infrastructure, setting a new historical high, with more than half of the time elapsed and more than half of the tasks completed. According to the "Several Policy Measures," next, Shandong Province will comprehensively accelerate the construction of projects under construction in high-speed rail, airports, highways, urban rail transit, coastal ports, and inland water transport. "Specifically, Shandong Province will accelerate the construction of a railway network that connects internally and externally. The Weifang-Yantai High-Speed Railway strives to be ready for operation by the end of October, and by the end of the year the province's high-speed rail operating mileage will exceed 3,000 kilometers. We will accelerate the construction of a highway network extending in all directions, complete and open to traffic 6 expressways including Linzi to Linyi and the Jinan North Ring, and by the end of the year the expressway operating mileage will exceed 8,600 kilometers. We will accelerate the construction of an inland water transport network connecting rivers and the sea, accelerate projects such as the second phase of the Xinwanfu River navigation resumption and the Weishan Third Line Ship Lock, and extend the reward and subsidy policy for port and ship loading and unloading operations along the Xiaoqing River to June 30, 2026." Zhao Fangde, chief engineer of the Provincial Department of Transport, introduced that in the second half of the year, Shandong Province will, in accordance with the overall direction of "unblocking corridors, densifying networks, building strong hubs, and optimizing and upgrading," comprehensively accelerate the interconnection of transportation infrastructure, ensure the completion of 325 billion yuan of investment in comprehensive transportation infrastructure for the whole year, and strive to provide solid support and guarantee for the province's steady and positive economic development and quality improvement in progress.
　　In terms of water conservancy projects, the "Several Policy Measures" proposes to promote the implementation of policies such as loan interest subsidies for key water conservancy project construction and insurance for water conservancy project operation and maintenance. Specifically on loan interest subsidies, it is proposed that for eligible key water conservancy project construction projects within the scope of provincial policy support, the provincial finance department will provide interest subsidy support at no more than 1% of the loan amount, with the cumulative subsidy for a single project not exceeding 30 million yuan, and a pilot period of 3 years. "This policy will effectively optimize the 'soft environment' of government-bank cooperation, boost the confidence of financial capital in investing in water conservancy project construction, enhance the financing attractiveness of water conservancy projects, stimulate the enthusiasm for loan financing of water conservancy projects, and provide important assistance for raising funds for water conservancy project construction," introduced Gao Xiangping, deputy director of the Financial Management Division of the Provincial Department of Water Resources. In terms of water conservancy insurance, it is proposed to select public welfare small reservoir projects with urgent risk defense needs and flood control tasks as the first batch of insured objects, with the provincial finance department providing funding subsidies of no more than 60% of the total premium, and a pilot period of 2 years. "This policy focuses on improving the ability of water conservancy projects to respond to various risks, transforming dispersed expenditures for unforeseeable disaster subsidies into fixed insurance premium expenditures that can be budgeted, promoting the rapid post-disaster repair and restoration of normal operation of water conservancy project facilities, and incorporating maintenance and upkeep work related to risk reduction into the scope of insurance services, which can effectively enhance the ability of water conservancy projects to respond to natural disasters and other various risks," Gao Xiangping said. As of now, all 3,675 public welfare small reservoirs in the province with flood control tasks have been included in insurance coverage.
　　The energy sector is an important breakthrough point for the new round of scientific and technological revolution and industrial transformation. As of the end of June, Shandong Province's new energy installed capacity exceeded the 100 million kilowatt mark, pushing investment in the energy sector to a new level. The "Several Policy Measures" proposes to accelerate the construction of large clean energy bases and add more than 10 million kilowatts of new energy and renewable energy installed capacity in the second half of 2024. Reserve and implement about 10 million kilowatts of new-type energy storage projects to ensure high-proportion consumption of new energy.
　　"This year, Shandong Province's investment in the energy sector will exceed 200 billion yuan, an increase of more than 70% over last year. In the future, with the development and construction of large clean energy bases such as nuclear power on the Jiaodong Peninsula, offshore wind power, and the integrated wind-solar-storage-transmission project in northern Shandong, and driving the clustered development of high-end equipment industries such as advanced nuclear power, large offshore wind power equipment, perovskite cells, and hydrogen fuel cells, resource advantages will be further transformed into development advantages," introduced Wang Fudong, a deputy department-level official of the Provincial Development and Reform Commission.
　　In terms of coal power transformation and upgrading, since the "14th Five-Year Plan," Shandong Province, based on the basic provincial condition of an energy consumption structure dominated by coal, has adhered to the basic principle of ensuring the safe supply of electricity and heat, and has completed and put into operation a total of 14 large coal-fired power units with an installed capacity of 6.02 million kilowatts; shut down and retired 333 small coal-fired power units with 9.0972 million kilowatts; and completed the "three transformations" of energy-saving and carbon-reduction transformation, flexibility transformation, and heating transformation for coal-fired power units for 121 unit-times and 61.43 million kilowatts. The transformation and upgrading of coal power has continued to accelerate, and the roles of "ballast stone" and "regulator" have been further enhanced. The "Several Policy Measures" proposes to newly complete 1.35 million kilowatts of large coal-fired power units in the second half of 2024, orderly promote the clean replacement of coal-fired heating boilers, and complete the "three transformations" of existing coal-fired power units for 5 million kilowatts. "In May this year, the provincial action plan for the clean replacement of coal-fired heating boilers was issued. At present, we are stepping up research and formulation of the provincial action plan for the transformation and retirement of subcritical units, which will systematically form a policy system for promoting energy conservation and carbon reduction in the coal power industry. Next, we will guide all cities to maintain their resolve, strengthen policy reserves, and ensure that enterprise production and operations are not affected and the burden on the masses is not increased," introduced Liu Xuejun, deputy director of the Provincial Energy Administration.
　　It is learned from the Investment Division of the Provincial Development and Reform Commission that next, Shandong Province will focus on mid-term adjustments to key projects, bring in a batch of high-quality projects that can start construction as soon as possible, list projects put into operation in the third quarter and provide dedicated task force support, and ensure that another 1,000 projects are put into operation in the third quarter and contribute more than 140 billion yuan in new output value, so that the effectiveness of the policy measures is reflected in the accelerated implementation of individual projects.