Men dragon dancing is a traditional folk art performed on special occasions in the city. [China Daily]

More than 200,000 new jobs are expected to be created when the new 63.5 billion yuan ($10.1 billion) steel complex and 59 billion yuan Sino-Kuwaiti petrochemical project and related industries in the port city Zhanjiang are in full swing, Mayor Wang Zhongbing said.

But he vowed that residents will be able to strike a balance between work and the quality of life.

"We want not only economic emergence, but also blue sky and clean water," Wang said.

"Major industries do not necessarily mean major pollution. Today, we can absolutely realize minimum emissions in the major industries based at the port."

The new Baosteel Zhanjiang Iron & Steel Co plant is designed to use 3.8 tons of water and 660 kilograms of coal for every ton of steel produced, better efficiency than current advanced levels worldwide.

In its efforts to control pollution, the city refused 53 projects that did not meet environmental requirements and closed 74 heavily polluting enterprises in the five years leading up to 2010.

All sources of drinking water in Zhanjiang now meet heath standards and the air quality registered good on all days last year, the mayor said.

The local government aims to expand forest coverage from 28.5 percent to more than 30 percent of the city, while increasing urban sewage treatment rate to 90 percent of all effluent and reducing energy consumption per unit of GDP by 17 percent by 2016.

City revenues from taxes and fees are projected to grow by 22.5 percent annually to reach 22 billion yuan in 2016.

While an inadequate transport network remains a hindrance to development, it will receive a huge boost in five years, Wang said.

When high-speed railways are completed, it will only take about two hours to travel to Guangzhou and Shenzhen, the major cities in Guangdong province.

The government is also considering relocating and expanding the local airport.

"In five years, Zhanjiang should become a modern port-based industrial city, an ecological city and important to the Beibu Bay region," Wang said.

As the host of the 14th provincial sports competition in 2014, the city is getting a facelift and turning the Haidong New District into a landmark area, Wang said.