- Survey tender marks first concrete step toward building an integrated commercial launch complex
- Project anchors Zhejiang’s push to build a high-frequency commercial launch center.
Ningbo is moving forward with plans for a large-scale commercial space industry base, launching tenders next month for preliminary geological surveys on a project expected to attract about 8.66 billion yuan ($1.22 billion) in total investment.
This move comes as local governments are competing to secure positions in China’s emerging private space economy.
According to the city’s government service platform, the first-phase survey will assess geological structures, soil distribution and groundwater conditions through drilling, laboratory testing and in-situ analysis, laying the groundwork for feasibility studies and subsequent construction planning.
The project envisions a fully integrated commercial aerospace hub spanning the entire industry chain, including a technology zone, a launch and test area, and supporting infrastructure such as an island-connecting bridge and port facilities linking the two zones.
Ningbo’s ambitions in commercial space date back to 2020, when the municipal government signed a cooperation agreement with the Eighth Academy of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation to develop an international commercial satellite launch center alongside an aerospace technology park.
The city formally incorporated plans for a commercial launch site into Zhejiang province’s broader aerospace development blueprint the following year.
Under Zhejiang’s 14th Five-Year plan (2021-2025), the Ningbo International Commercial Space Launch Center is being built in its suburban district Xiangshan with a total planned investment of 20 billion yuan.
The project covers roughly 67 square kilometers, including a 35-square-kilometer core launch area and a 32-square-kilometer industrial support zone, targeting annual launch capacity of 100 missions and the creation of a trillion-yuan aerospace industrial cluster.
Zheshang Securities, a securities broker, said in a recent research note that converging policy support, industrial demand and capital investment could make 2026 a breakout year for China’s commercial space sector, as regional governments accelerate infrastructure projects aimed at capturing growth in satellite launches and downstream applications.
