On November 2, China Merchants Group and the Quanzhou Municipal People’s Government signed a strategic cooperation framework agreement. The signing was witnessed by Miao Jianmin, Chairman of China Merchants Group, together with Chen Lida, Secretary of the Quanzhou Municipal Committee of the CPC, and Hou Weidong, Deputy Secretary of the Municipal Committee and Acting Mayor of Quanzhou.
Under the agreement, both parties will leverage their respective strengths to deepen and expand cooperation in areas such as shipbuilding and repair, transportation and logistics, the development of “new quality productive forces,” and the provision of financial services to the real economy.
During his visit, Miao Jianmin inspected the Quanzhou Shipyard, examining the dry docks, slipway facilities, and the condition of the shipping channels. Miao pointed out that the Quanzhou Shipyard possesses significant inherent resource advantages. He urged China Merchants Shipbuilding Industry (CMI) to engage in strategic, well-coordinated planning—optimizing both internal management and the synergy of external resources—to capitalize on the industry’s current upcycle. He emphasized the need to restore production capacity safely and steadily, ensuring an orderly and effective resumption of operations at the shipyard, thereby injecting new momentum into the local economy.
Miao Jianmin’s visit and his recognition of the shipyard’s resource advantages align with the shared vision of China Merchants Group and the Quanzhou Municipal People’s Government to prioritize shipbuilding and ship repair as a key area of cooperation.
China Merchants Group has been laying the groundwork regarding the Quanzhou Shipyard for some time. On October 22, a delegation led by Jiang Shaoxing—a member of the Party Leadership Group and Deputy Director of the Quanzhou Investment Promotion Service Center—visited Hui’an County, where the shipyard is located, to conduct an on-site assessment of key investment projects. At the Quanzhou Shipyard site, the delegation inquired specifically about the progress of the partnership between Quanzhou Jiaofa Shipbuilding Heavy Industry Development Co., Ltd. (the entity operating the shipyard) and CMI, while also offering guidance on the project’s advancement.
The predecessor of Quanzhou Shipyard was Quanzhou Shipbuilding Industry Co., Ltd., established in 2004. It is a large-scale shipyard primarily engaged in ship repair and shipbuilding, with additional capabilities in the construction and repair of offshore oil engineering projects.
In 2007, the Hong Kong-listed private enterprise Titan Petrochemicals Group acquired a 100% stake in Quanzhou Shipyard, making it a wholly-owned subsidiary. Three years later, Titan Petrochemicals announced the sale of the shipyard; however, multiple attempts to find a buyer—involving several different potential purchasers—ultimately ended in failure.
In January 2021, Quanzhou Jiaofa Real Estate Investment Group Co., Ltd.—a second-tier subsidiary of Quanzhou Jiaofa Group—won the bid for the bankruptcy asset package of the Quanzhou Shipyard for approximately 1.2 billion yuan. The winning bid represented a premium of 76.9%, a rare occurrence in the auction of a bankrupt shipyard. In February, the restructuring project for the Quanzhou Shipyard was launched, with plans to introduce industries such as ship repair, shipbuilding, offshore engineering manufacturing, and logistics, involving a total planned investment of 2 billion yuan. In April, Quanzhou Jiaofa Shipbuilding Heavy Industry Development Co., Ltd. was established to oversee the management and operation of the Quanzhou Shipyard project.
In 2023, following a strategy of “simultaneously attracting investment, finalizing administrative procedures, and revitalizing existing assets,” the Quanzhou Shipyard initiated efforts to attract investment and lease out facilities across three segments: prefabrication, ship repair, and offshore engineering. Within the ship repair segment, the shipyard successfully brought in a joint-venture partner, Boyang Shipping Company. In September, the scientific research vessel “Xiangyanghong 03” and the offshore support vessel “Ocean Petroleum 691” arrived at the shipyard for repairs, marking the resumption of ship repair operations at the Quanzhou Shipyard.
Since September 2023, the ship repair division of Quanzhou Shipyard has largely achieved normalized operations. This year, various vessels—including the large-scale offshore engineering unit “Huaxia Kunpeng 01” and the mobile offshore platform “Desheng 287″—have arrived at the shipyard for dry-dock repairs. To date, Quanzhou Shipyard has secured industrial projects with a total investment of 3.58 billion yuan, completed repairs on 92 vessels, and generated over 280 million yuan in revenue.
With the restructuring of Quanzhou Shipyard making substantive progress, Quanzhou Communications Development Group has announced plans to transform the facility into a leading domestic base for the maintenance and support of green, technology-driven marine equipment. This initiative aims to fill a gap in Quanzhou’s industrial landscape regarding the manufacturing of intelligent offshore engineering equipment, while simultaneously supporting the city’s efforts to foster a new development paradigm characterized by the integrated growth of its port, industries, and urban areas.
Earlier in 2024, the Quanzhou Municipal People’s Government emphasized the need to “fully support the rapid resumption of production at the Quanzhou Shipyard, leverage its advantages in terms of location and facilities, and develop it into a major shipbuilding and ship-repair enterprise along the southeast coast.”
According to available information, Quanzhou Shipyard is located in the Douwei Port Area of Hui’an. It spans an area of approximately 2,017 mu (about 134.5 hectares) and features a coastline stretching roughly 3.6 kilometers. The facility is equipped with seven piers—either completed or currently under construction—including two 300,000-ton class ship-repair piers. Its key production infrastructure also comprises two 300,000-ton class dry docks, two 100,000-ton class dry docks, and two slipways for vessels under 10,000 tons. It stands as one of the few deep-water, ice-free, and silt-free ports in China capable of accommodating the free entry and exit of 300,000-ton class vessels.
The entry of China Merchants Industry into the fold has accelerated the recovery of production capacity at the Quanzhou shipyard; shipbuilding operations, dormant for many years, are poised for a restart, and the shipyard’s existing capacity will be further revitalized.