An advertisement for Google's mapping service on a bus in Beijing. [Photo/China Daily]

Beijing invests 15 billion yuan in geographical infrastructure project

BEIJING - China has invested 15 billion yuan ($2.25 billion) to build the first national-level Geographic Information Industrial Park, which covers a total area of about 66.7 hectares.

The venture will further develop the geographic information industry in the country, said government officials.

The park, which has garnered investment from the State Bureau of Surveying and Mapping and the Beijing municipal government, is scheduled to be operational by 2013. More than 100 companies in the geographic information industry will enter the park by then.

"The park is an important measure to enhance the development of the geographic information industry and Beijing will develop it (the park) into a 'Silicon Valley' for the industry," Guo Jinlong, mayor of Beijing, said at a ceremony for the laying of the foundation stone on Sunday.

The move came after the country launched its official online map service, called Map World, in late October, which put the State-backed map service in direct competition with international players, such as Google and Microsoft.

Currently, Baidu, DDMap and Google are major online map providers in China, and together they account for more than half of the market share, Beijing-based research firm, Analysys International said.

According to the State Bureau of Surveying and Mapping, more than 12 million Internet users had visited Map World by Oct 5, 15 days after it was launched.

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In September, the bureau gave licenses to 31 companies, including Nokia, Baidu, Alibaba, Sina and Tencent, after it said companies operating online map services have to apply for a license to continue their operations, citing national security.

However, the bureau said Google and Microsoft have not yet applied for licenses.

Companies that don't possess a license by July 1, 2011 will have to stop working on their online map business.

Revenue from China's geographic information industry reached 75 billion yuan in 2009, and this is expected to rise to between 90 billion and 100 billion yuan this year, and then close to 300 billion yuan in 2015, according to industry figures.

Part of the industry, the country's online mapping services market, is next year expected to exceed 2.5 billion yuan with 150 million users, said Ji Chendong, an analyst with the research firm Frost & Sullivan.

The first 25 companies slated to enter the park signed contracts on Sunday, including the State-backed Map World service.