Service innovations, robust investment fuel economic surge in Yihe New Area

Technicians assemble advanced equipment in an industrial workshop. [Photo/Linyi Daily]

Yihe New Area in Linyi reported robust growth in the first quarter of 2026, with GDP up 6.5 percent year on year.

Market vitality strengthens

Market vitality strengthened in the first quarter, with Yihe New Area registering 2,064 new market entities, including 921 enterprises, ranking second in the city. Private investment reached 6.62 billion yuan ($970 million), accounting for 81.6 percent of total investment and rising 17.6 percent year on year.

General public budget revenue reached 1.03 billion yuan, ranking third in Linyi. Tax revenue reached 820 million yuan, ranking second, with taxes accounting for 80.2 percent of fiscal revenue, the highest share in the city.

Urban construction progress

Urban construction also progressed. Fifteen new projects, including the Xiangyu Road interchange, began construction, while 25 ongoing projects, including the Yihe New Area Experimental High School, resumed work. Both the project start-and-resumption rate and the completed investment rate ranked first among the five districts.

The first phase of the Jade Bund project delivered all 628 housing units, becoming the first Country Garden project in Linyi to fully resume construction and complete home delivery.

Services remove bottlenecks

The strong start was supported by a service mechanism designed to remove bottlenecks and support project construction.

At a Zhimei Signs project with an annual production capacity of 800,000 square meters of signage, General Manager Lun Zhilian expressed satisfaction with the construction progress.

"We are very satisfied with the progress of the project," Lun said. "Yihe New Area staff not only helped us with procedures but also visited us regularly and helped remove many obstacles before and after construction."

Chen Liangchun, deputy director and Party committee member of the Linyi economic and technological development zone service center, noted the center's support for 18 projects this year.

"For each project, we assign one leadership team member and one key staff member to form a special working group with the project company," Chen said. "The government and enterprises work together to handle procedures, promote construction, seize time, and accelerate progress."

Sixteen of the 18 projects have started construction, with a start rate of 88.9 percent, Chen said.

Services also extended beyond administrative procedures to help companies reduce costs and improve efficiency.

Ling Ling, Party secretary and director of the Yihe New Area branch of the Linyi ecology and environment bureau, said the bureau helped promote cooperation among Shikefeng Chemical Industry Co Ltd, Zhejiang Avilive Chemical Co Ltd, and Shandong Zhongqing Environmental Protection Technology Co Ltd after Shikefeng faced rising sulfur procurement costs due to the situation in the Middle East.

"Transport costs alone can be reduced by 2 million yuan a year," Ling said.

With the momentum of its first-quarter performance, Yihe New Area is working to advance its goal of building an industrial economy above 100 billion yuan and making the city more appealing.

Editor：韩蒙蒙