On January 12, staff inspected the Datang Shichengzi 1,000 MW "Solar Thermal + Photovoltaic" Integrated Clean Energy Demonstration Project site in Yizhou District, Hami City. Currently, the 900 MW photovoltaic section of the project has been connected to the grid for power generation, while the 100 MW solar thermal section has entered a critical construction phase and will achieve full operational capacity soon.
Key project construction is crucial for expanding investment, adjusting the economic structure, stabilizing growth, and enhancing momentum. Throughout the past year, 2025, Xinjiang anchored its fixed-asset investment growth targets, focusing on key areas such as the autonomous region's modern infrastructure construction, industrial system development, and social livelihood guarantees. It prioritized cultivating emerging and future industries as key to developing new quality productive forces, meticulously planning and implementing major projects aligned with high-quality development requirements and offering significant comprehensive benefits.
According to data provided by the Autonomous Region Development and Reform Commission, in 2025, Xinjiang planned a total of 500 major projects (including bundled projects), with a total investment of 3.47 trillion yuan and an annual planned investment exceeding 400 billion yuan. By the end of December 2025, the region's key projects had cumulatively completed investments of 402.1 billion yuan based on physical work volume, surpassing the annual planned target.
When the spring tide surged, a concentrated commencement activity for major projects across the region was held for the first quarter, with 83 autonomous region-level key projects newly starting construction. As the autumn wind rose again, Xinjiang's major project concentrated commencement and completion ceremony, coupled with the third-quarter key project scheduling meeting, commenced, featuring 70 major projects starting and 56 major projects being completed. From "racing" in the spring to "accelerating" in the golden autumn, the past year saw project construction timelines maximized across Xinjiang, revealing a determined drive to "focus heavily on projects and secure large projects."
The primary leaders of the Autonomous Region Party Committee and government presided over major project commencement and resumption activities twice, further guiding social expectations and boosting development confidence. "The continuous implementation of the three-tier linkage scheduling mechanism at the autonomous region, prefecture, and county levels fully mobilized the enthusiasm of prefectures/cities and industry departments," said Yin Tingting, Deputy Director of the Project Construction Management Office of the Autonomous Region Development and Reform Commission. Xinjiang established a coordinated investment management and project construction work mechanism and a systematic "1+3+N" investment project work system, forming a closed loop of project "planning-promotion-supervision-service" to facilitate the high-efficiency and fast-paced advancement of major projects across the region.
From approval applications to construction commencement, the smooth progress of key projects relies on meticulous support and precise supervision. Changji Hui Autonomous Prefecture carried out "standardized, precise, and digital" environmental impact assessment services, explicitly incorporating key investment projects, environmental protection projects, and infrastructure projects into the EIA green channel.
Directing funds and essential factors to follow projects is the core principle for the autonomous region in advancing key projects. The Autonomous Region Development and Reform Commission, along with essential factor guarantee departments such as the Department of Natural Resources, Department of Ecology and Environment, Department of Emergency Management, and Forestry and Grassland Bureau, intervened early to guide the preparation and submission of approval documents, promoting the early landing and commencement of newly started key projects. In 2025, Xinjiang commenced construction on 179 new key projects, exceeding the annual target of starting 120 new projects.
Furthermore, the autonomous region ensured diversified investment and financing support for projects, implemented the 2025 central budget investment and ultra-long-term special government bonds, and strengthened credit support from financial institutions. It fully leveraged mechanisms like "one team per location" and "one task force per enterprise" to provide targeted services, using further optimization of the business environment to propel project construction into an "accelerated run."
The G0711 Urumqi-Yuli Highway, tunneling through the Tianshan Mountains, reduced the driving time from Urumqi to Korla from 7 hours to 3.5 hours, efficiently connecting the Junggar Basin and Tarim Basin regions. The Tahe Petrochemical Integration Project commenced construction, enabling petrochemical enterprises to transition from traditional oil refining to producing chemical products and aromatics, thereby extending the industrial chain "from a drop of oil to a piece of fabric."
Major projects are the lever for driving high-quality development. In 2025, the commencement and completion of a batch of key projects in Xinjiang led to further improvement of major infrastructure, further optimization of modern industrial layout, a more solid foundation for high-quality development, and a more powerful engine for economic growth.
In 2025, the Yining-Aksu Railway (pilot section), Hami East Station capacity expansion project, and the G3033 Kuytun-Dushanzi-Kuche Highway commenced construction; Urumqi Tianshan International Airport officially became operational; the G0711 Urumqi-Yuli Highway, G219 Aksu (Wensu)-Wushi-Aheqi section, G219 Yopurga-Yengisar Highway, and G217 Kuqa-Xayar Highway were completed and opened to traffic. Xinjiang's railway operating mileage reached a new high, all prefectures and cities entered the "expressway era," the number of airports increased to 28, ranking first nationally, and the comprehensive three-dimensional transportation network was continuously improved.
The North-South Natural Gas Benefit Pipeline Expansion Project commenced construction in Altay Prefecture, Tacheng Prefecture, Kashgar Prefecture, and Bayingolin Mongol Autonomous Prefecture; the nation's largest 750 kV ultra-high voltage transmission loop network—the ring Tarim Basin 750 kV power grid—was closed and began transmitting power; the Hami-Chongqing ±800 kV UHVDC transmission project, the West-East Gas Pipeline Line 4 (Turpan-Zhongwei section), and the Gasification of Southern Xinjiang Natural Gas Pipeline Project (Yingmaili-Sancha Natural Gas Pipeline) were completed and operational. The north, central, and south channels for "Xinjiang Coal Outbound" and the four DC and two AC channels for "Xinjiang Power Outbound" are accelerating their formation, as Xinjiang steadily advances the construction of a national strategic energy and resource security base.
The Hami Guoneng 2×600 MW Cogeneration Project and the Tianchi Energy 2 billion cubic meters/year Coal-to-Gas Project achieved new starts; the Kizilsu Kirghiz Autonomous Prefecture Nonferrous Metal Mining and Dressing & Green Mine Construction Project, Xinjiang Zijin Gold Co., Ltd. Sawaya'erdun Gold Mine Project, and the Xinjiang Ruoqiang County Ka'erqia'er Fluorite Mine Mining and Dressing Construction Project were completed and began production. Xinjiang is giving full play to the important role of its energy resources and industries in the national economic landscape, actively building a modern industrial system reflecting Xinjiang's characteristics and advantages, and accelerating the transformation of locational advantages, resource advantages, and policy advantages into economic advantages.
"The road condition was poor before, with many large trucks; a single trip took at least an hour and a half. Now it's great, the journey is smooth, and driving to Kuqa is fast and convenient," said Erkin Osman, who frequently drives between Xayar County and Kuqa City, experiencing the convenience brought by the road upgrade at the end of last year.
On December 6, 2025, the G217 Kuqa-Xayar Highway officially opened to traffic, ending the history of Xayar County having no high-grade highways. The driving time between the two locations was reduced from 1.5 hours to 40 minutes, bringing convenience to local residents of all ethnic groups.
In March 2025, Tursunniyaz Dolat from Wutang Village, Salwüzek Township, Minfeng County, along with 8 other households from the same village, contracted 860 mu of sandy land in the Minfeng County Houheba Desert Blocking Area to plant red willows, planning to inoculate Cistanche deserticola the following year and interplant licorice and melons between the willows to increase income.
The desert can also "generate gold." Building on the foundation of the green sand-blocking shelterbelt around the Taklimakan Desert achieving closure and connection in 2024, Xinjiang promoted the leap from "closure" to "strengthening the foundation" in desert management in 2025, completing 13.762 million mu of "Three-North" Shelterbelt Program afforestation and increasing the shelterbelt width by 110 meters to 7,500 meters. Various localities persisted in continuously converting the ecological dividends from the closure of the Taklimakan Desert shelterbelt into a tangible sense of gain for the people.
On November 30, 2025, the Gasification of Southern Xinjiang Natural Gas Pipeline Project (Yingmaili-Sancha Natural Gas Pipeline) was successfully commissioned along its entire length, closely linking large and medium-sized gas fields like Kela and Keshen with counties and cities along the route, directly benefiting over 2 million residents of all ethnic groups in 5 counties/cities and 2 farming and pastoral regiments, including Aksu City and Maralbeshi County.
One by one, key projects are landing across Xinjiang, providing increasingly improved public services, making inclusive, basic, and essential livelihood work more stable, and significantly enhancing the sense of gain, happiness, and security for people of all ethnic groups.
In 2025, 6 projects including the Karamay Central Hospital Autonomous Region-level Regional Medical Center construction were completed, and 33 new public service projects, such as the Xinjiang University Kashguer Campus, commenced construction, providing strong guarantees for people of all ethnic groups to enjoy more accessible public services like education and healthcare.
"Currently, we are sorting out the work for the commencement and resumption of major projects in the first quarter to ensure that projects scheduled to start do so on time, laying the foundation for key projects in 2026 to continue driving fixed-asset investment to maintain reasonable growth," said Yin Tingting.
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