kasuku
New Lister
This is very interesting, and I think a world first: a local government in China has just sold its sky, literally.
This is the government of Pingyin County, Jinan, Shandong Province who sold for 924 million yuan (approximately $130 million) a 30-year concession to operate and maintain its low-altitude economic projects to a company called Shandong Jinyu General Aviation Co., Ltd.
The "low-altitude economy" is a big trend in China at the moment. XPeng, one of China's leading EV manufacturers, recently released a low-altitude flying car for instance. Drone deliveries are becoming increasingly common in Chinese cities, and various regions are actively developing low-altitude transportation networks. Shanghai, for instance, plans to establish 400 low-altitude flight routes by 2027.
But this is the first time a local government has monetized its low-altitude airspace. What makes this particularly fascinating is how it mirrors China's land management system. Just as local governments have traditionally derived substantial revenue from leasing land-use rights (which historically made up nearly half of their income), they're now looking upward to the skies as a new frontier for revenue generation. The Civil Aviation Administration of China estimates that by 2035, the low-altitude economy market could reach 3.5 trillion yuan (about $490 billion), so we're talking big, big money.
Pingyin County wasn't chosen by accident: the area already has significant aviation infrastructure, including two airports and several drone manufacturing companies. It has also partnered with Nanjing Aeronautics and Astronautics University to develop a low-altitude logistics demonstration center. The winning bidder, interestingly, is a state-owned enterprise specifically created for this purpose.
All in all it looks like this local government wants to develop a pilot program to demonstrate how a "low-altitude economy" ecosystem can be developed locally, and also be a first-mover in that space. That's the way it often works in China's so-called "mayor economy": local governments act as policy entrepreneurs, experimenting with innovative approaches that, if successful, could become blueprints for national development while giving their regions first-mover advantages in emerging sectors.
Let's see how it develops: this experiment in Pingyin County might seem small, but it could be the beginning of something truly revolutionary. This is China effectively experimenting around becoming the world's first truly three-dimensional economy, with low-altitude transportation and logistics networks. In a decade or two Chinese cities might have as much activity happening in the sky as on the ground.
Here are a few sources on this:
This is the government of Pingyin County, Jinan, Shandong Province who sold for 924 million yuan (approximately $130 million) a 30-year concession to operate and maintain its low-altitude economic projects to a company called Shandong Jinyu General Aviation Co., Ltd.
The "low-altitude economy" is a big trend in China at the moment. XPeng, one of China's leading EV manufacturers, recently released a low-altitude flying car for instance. Drone deliveries are becoming increasingly common in Chinese cities, and various regions are actively developing low-altitude transportation networks. Shanghai, for instance, plans to establish 400 low-altitude flight routes by 2027.
But this is the first time a local government has monetized its low-altitude airspace. What makes this particularly fascinating is how it mirrors China's land management system. Just as local governments have traditionally derived substantial revenue from leasing land-use rights (which historically made up nearly half of their income), they're now looking upward to the skies as a new frontier for revenue generation. The Civil Aviation Administration of China estimates that by 2035, the low-altitude economy market could reach 3.5 trillion yuan (about $490 billion), so we're talking big, big money.
Pingyin County wasn't chosen by accident: the area already has significant aviation infrastructure, including two airports and several drone manufacturing companies. It has also partnered with Nanjing Aeronautics and Astronautics University to develop a low-altitude logistics demonstration center. The winning bidder, interestingly, is a state-owned enterprise specifically created for this purpose.
All in all it looks like this local government wants to develop a pilot program to demonstrate how a "low-altitude economy" ecosystem can be developed locally, and also be a first-mover in that space. That's the way it often works in China's so-called "mayor economy": local governments act as policy entrepreneurs, experimenting with innovative approaches that, if successful, could become blueprints for national development while giving their regions first-mover advantages in emerging sectors.
Let's see how it develops: this experiment in Pingyin County might seem small, but it could be the beginning of something truly revolutionary. This is China effectively experimenting around becoming the world's first truly three-dimensional economy, with low-altitude transportation and logistics networks. In a decade or two Chinese cities might have as much activity happening in the sky as on the ground.
Here are a few sources on this:
全国首例低空经济特许经营权拍出9.24亿元--经济・科技--人民网
11月26日，济南公共资源交易中心发布了一则中标公告，宣布平阴县低空经济特许经营权出让项目成功拍出，成交价为9.24亿元。这标志着全国首例低空经济特许经营权出让落地，也表明低空经济在中国迈出了关键的一
finance.people.com.cn