World Dream, a luxury cruise liner operated by Asia's luxury cruise line Dream Cruises, sets sail from Guangzhou's Nansha Port. (Photo: Xinhua)

The marine economy of Guangdong province last year reached a whopping 1.93 trillion yuan ($280 billion), ranking first in the country for the 24th consecutive year, according to a recent report released by the Department of Natural Resources of Guangdong Province.

According to the 2018 Guangdong Marine Economic Development Report, the south China economic powerhouse has developed its marine economy as a new economic growth driver, which accounts for 23.2 percent of the country's total marine economy.

Qu Jiashu, deputy head of the Department of Natural Resources of Guangdong Province, said that the growth rate for the province's marine economy reached nine percent in 2018 and that the total value of marine-related industries took up a fifth of the province's GDP.

The report also revealed that coastal tourism is still the pillar industry of Guangdong's marine economic development, and its added value accounts for more than half of that of the major marine industries.

In terms of the marine industry structure, the added value of Guangdong's marine tertiary industry reached 1,182.75 billion yuan in 2018, an increase of 11.2 percent year-on-year.

Last year, Guangdong proposed to vigorously boost six major marine industries, such as offshore wind power. Under the guidance of related policies, these industries have also begun to show strong development momentum. By the end of 2018, there were more than 100 wind power development and service enterprises in Guangdong, and the newly approved wind power projects in the shallow waters of the province reached an installed capacity of 8.73 million kilowatts. The total capacity of shallow water power projects connected to the state grid, under construction, and receiving government approval reached 10.35 million kilowatts.

While boosting its industrial development, Guangdong also strives to enhance marine innovation. In 2018, the province financed 48 special projects for marine innovation, finished construction of 24 marine and fishing research institutions, and helped 52 scientific innovations to commercialize.