Jiangsu Zhongshe lands drone contract

Jiangsu Zhongshe Group said on May 15 that its architecture design unit had won the bid for the Yixing low-altitude economy industrial park project in Jiangsu province. Chinese media reports said the contract was tied to survey and design work, with a disclosed bid amount of 4.37 million yuan and a 55-day timetable. The project places a listed engineering and design company inside one of China’s fast-expanding local pushes to build out drone-related industrial infrastructure. It also extends that push into Yixing, a manufacturing city under Wuxi in eastern China. ### What exactly did Jiangsu Zhongshe win in Yixing? Jiangsu Zhongshe Group’s architecture design subsidiary won the Yixing low-altitude economy industrial park project, the company said in a post on its official website. The company described the project as a key local development tied to Yixing’s effort to seize opportunities in the low-altitude economy and foster what Chinese policy documents call “new quality productive forces.” (jszs-group.com) Chinese media reports published on May 15 said the purchaser was Yixing Zhikong Low-Altitude Technology Co., Ltd. and that the work covered survey and design. Those reports put the winning bid at 4.37 million yuan and the contract period at 55 days. ### Where will the project be built? Yixing’s project site is north of Dingshu Airport, according to Jiangsu Zhongshe’s project description. (jszs-group.com) The company said the parcel is bounded by Xixi River to the east, the airport wall to the south, the airport boundary to the west and Puxi Road to the north. (news.qq.com) The company said the buildable land area is about 83,260 square meters, or roughly 125 mu. Its published concept for the park includes a power center, multi-story factory buildings, high-rise factory buildings, a final assembly plant and dormitories, combining research and development, production, assembly testing, display space and living services. (jszs-group.com) ### Why does this fit China’s low-altitude economy push? China’s central government has steadily elevated the low-altitude economy in national planning. The term was first included in the government work report in 2024, according to official English-language government material, and official policy commentary has since described its status rising from a “new growth engine” to an emerging industry and then to a strategically important pillar industry in 2026. (jszs-group.com) In December 2024, the National Development and Reform Commission created a dedicated low-altitude economy development department. Official descriptions say that office is responsible for development strategy, medium- and long-term planning, policy recommendations and coordination of major issues related to the sector. (english.gov.cn) ### What does “low-altitude economy” include in practice? Official and state-linked material describes the sector as spanning aircraft manufacturing, operations, infrastructure and support services in low-altitude airspace. The applications cited in those materials include logistics, agriculture, mapping, emergency rescue, passenger transport, tourism and urban services. (english.gov.cn) China’s Civil Aviation Administration said the country’s low-altitude economy exceeded 500 billion yuan by the end of 2023 and could reach 2 trillion yuan by 2030. Separately, an official English-language government report on the NDRC department said the sector was estimated at more than 670 billion yuan in 2024 and projected to exceed 1 trillion yuan by 2026, underscoring that different official and state-linked estimates are in circulation. (drc.gov.cn) ### Why does Yixing matter here? Yixing sits in Jiangsu, part of China’s industrial east coast, and local officials have been building the case for more advanced manufacturing capacity in the area. An English-language Wuxi government page said the broader Yixing Economic Development Zone has attracted 719 companies. Jiangsu Zhongshe said it would use a multi-disciplinary design approach and system-based technical services to turn the park into a demonstration project for Yixing’s low-altitude economy. (english.gov.cn) The company said the next step is to push the project forward to implementation at a high standard, with the site centered on the land north of Dingshu Airport. (jszs-group.com) (en.wuxi.gov.cn)