The launch ceremony for a development project on the north side of Smaller Yangshan Island is held on Nov 5 in Zhoushan. [Photo/zjol.com.cn]

A comprehensive project on the development of the north side of Smaller Yangshan Island was officially launched on Nov 5 in Zhoushan, East China's Zhejiang province.

The project, which was funded by Zhejiang Seaport Group, focused on the creation of a 1-square-kilometer piece of land through marine reclamation, the heightening of a 2,843-meter-long submerged breakwater and a small dike with a length of nearly 80 meters.

Preliminary preparations for the project started in April 2019. It is scheduled to be completed by the end of November 2021.

The north side of Smaller Yangshan Island is richer in coastal resources than the south side and has the potential to become an international junction for sea-river transportation. The development of the south side was completed in 2017.

The island is regarded as an important part of Yangshan Port, the largest island-based artificial deep-water port in the world, and a key transfer station for sea-river transportation in the Yangtze River Delta region, said officials.