A RMB9.6 billion state-level autonomous vehicle testing base to be built in Guangzhou

Shanghai (Gasgoo)- Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong Province, is going to construct a national level testing base for autonomous vehicles with up to RMB9.6 billion to be imbued, according to local reports.

As the epitome of Guangdong's planning to develop digital transportation, the aforesaid testing facility will be located at Qingsheng hub cluster of Nansha District.

(Photo source: Pony ai.)

A development land covering 2,225,400 square meters with a total floorage of 1,722,800 square meters will be offered to build the state-level demonstration zone of autonomous driving and smart transportation as part of a near-term plan, according to a file posted on the website of Guangzhou Municipal Planning and Natural Resources Bureau. Besides, a long-term plan is also prepared for the future practical applications after the testing facility is launched.

The autonomous driving project was a part of a deal reached by Guangzhou Nansha Economic and Technological Development Zone Management Committee, Guangdong Provincial Communications Group Co.,Ltd and Research Institute of Highway Ministry of Transport as early as September, 2018. Three parties agreed then to build at the Qingsheng hub cluster two bases—one for autonomous vehicle tests and the other for the inspection of new models, two centers that focus on the transportation big data and the R&D of vehicle-infrastructure cooperative system respectively, an industrial park for smart traffic businesses as well as a semi-open testing ground for self-driving.

The partnership was forged to boost China's Pearl River Delta to pool advantageous resources of automobile, communications, electronics and intelligent transportation, so as to form a complete industrial chain of autonomous driving in Nansha District, where the integration of AI and self-driving technologies is being promoted.

Guangdong has been pushing ahead with the development of digital transportation with its traffic infrastructures becoming more and more digital. In May, 2019, the capital city Guangzhou launched its first 5G-based route for public transport.