Work on a new space base commenced Tuesday at the Shenzhuang Industrial Zone in Shanghai.

The base will take shape in five years in Shanghai in an effort to upgrade research and development in the region, an official said at a ground-laying ceremony held on Tuesday.

The base, involving an investment of 1.3 billion yuan (US$160 million), will become an important space center for the research, testing and production of carrier rockets, manned space craft, satellite aerial defense weaponry, according to officials with the Shanghai Space Bureau.

Five specialized research institutes will be established at the base, which will cover 74 hectares. Many space and aviation research organizations scattered across Shanghai will move to the base by the end of 2010.

(Xinhua News Agency September 7, 2005)