In September 2013, Chief executive officer Mats Berg and Gerd Sävenstedt, head of international relations, visited Dongying, a coastal city in the north of China. A letter of intent was signed were both cities committed themselves to develop relations and cooperation during five years.
China and Piteå
In Dongying they are interested in sharing our experiences of working in public affairs and we have a lot of learn from them, especially when it comes to using high tech in visualizing different concepts.
Second largest oil fields in China
Dongying is a young as a city. It was founded in 1983 and has today more than 2 million inhabitants. They have an economic growth, even higher than in Hong Kong. And you can see it. Within the city they have the second largest oil fields, discovered in the 60-ties, which are the base for the fast economic growth.
Even if they have a large production they also import oil, crude oil, mainly from the Middle East.
A new harbor
Outside the city center there is a big newly built harbor which has a 12 km pier out into the sea where they load and unload, mainly oil. From there, there are big pipes directly to the refineries about 40 km away from the shore. Around 20 000 people are working, directly in the harbor or in companies, working with different tasks related to the harbor. A completely new residential area with multistory buildings is constructed for the people working there. Those who have families can live in a nearby town together with their families.
The land is growing
The main reason for building a 12 km long pier out into the sea is related to the mouth of the Yellow River. Each year the Yellow River carries a huge amount of sludge and has for the last 50 years created 50 km 2 new land each year. Even the coastline changes and goes yearly 500 meter out in the see. In order to build the houses piles were driven 40 meter deep into the ground.
Want to become eco-labeled
In Dongying they strive towards becoming an eco-city. Today the city is a huge construction site but they are not only building houses to live in. They also construct large green areas, areas for recreation, venues for people to meet and places for being active in sports and culture. Next year they will inaugurate a spectacular opera house. They plan for a city where you can live a good life with possibilities to support yourself, good housing, areas for recreation and culture.
Farming
The soil in the area is salty, which decrease the variation of crops to grow. The main crop is cotton but they also grow vegetables, flowers, have fish farms and domestic animals. Many of the farmers need to supplement their income and the city has an institute for learning new skills, as food processing and sewing, or developing the skills they already have. They are striving towards organic farming and give classes to increase the knowledge.
Tires, software and gold
Many of the Enterprises and the educational institutions are in one way or another linked to the oil. Here is also research centers linked to the oil industry. They also produce well know tires for cars and truck, mainly for the domestic market. In the area they also have gold mines with a yearly production of 100 000 ton.
