Life of Guangzhou - Construction Starts for the World's Largest Commodities Trading Center in GZ

The foundation for China's largest merchandise trading center, the Guangzhou International Commodities Exhibition and Trade City (GICETC), was laid in the Hualong Town of Panyu, Guangzhou on January 8th.

The center will begin operation in 2010, when Guangzhou will host the 16th Asian Games.

昨日(1月8日)，一个比深圳华南城大2.5倍、比义乌小商品批发市场大2倍，全国最大的国际采购大平台“广州国际商品展贸城”在广州番禺区化龙镇正式奠基。，预计2010年开业经营。

Illustration of Guangzhou International Commodities Exhibition and Trade City

The compound will be nearly three times as large as the South China Mall in Shenzhen, and twice as big as the Yiwu Small Merchandise Wholesale Market in Zhejiang Province.

Its total construction area will be 5.76 million square meters over three phases, with a total investment of 2 billion Yuan (294 million USD).

据悉，国际展贸城建筑总面积约576万平方米。第一期建筑面积120万平方米，20亿元投资金已基本到位。

Upon completion, the "city" will become the world's largest center for merchandise trading, exhibitions and R&D, with an expected annual turnover of over 150 billion Yuan (22.1 billion USD) and daily visits from approximately 600 thousand people.

3期全面建成后将成为全球最大的产品进出口贸易、研发和展示中心，预计将有超过1500亿元的年产品交易额，60万人次/天的交易客流量。

About the GICETC

The GICETC will consist of 10 functional zones. It will be so large that experts say it would take about two years to walk around the entire complex if one spends three minutes at each booth.

根据规划，展贸城划定为十大功能区（即十大港湾）. 3分钟逛一个店铺来计算，要逛完整座展贸城需花2年时间。

The first phase will be for imports of industrial raw materials, the second for exports, and the third for industries such as automobiles and mechanics.

一期以进口工业原材料为主；二期将以出口为主；三期规划是朝阳产业，主要涉及汽车、机械行业。

Wholesalers renting GICETC booths will be entitled to a rent exemption for two to three years, according to the General Manager of the GICETC, Li Yandong.

广州国际商品展贸城股份有限公司董事总经理李彦东解释说，进驻批发商可获2~3年的免租期优惠。

Once the Guangzhou and Panyu governments unveil various preferential supportive policies regarding the GICETC, the trading center will perhaps have the lowest operational costs and offer the best wholesale market service in Guangzhou for dealers, Li said.

广州市、番禺区政府相关扶植政策也将制定出台，国际展贸城有望成为广州地区成本最低、服务最好的批发市场。