Following a failing investment in a local chemical plant, the Guanzhou city government will no longer help fund the construction of competitive projects, Mayor Lin Shusen has announced.

Lin made the pledge at a press conference Thursday in answer to a reporter's question about what lessons should be drawn from investing in the loss-making Guangzhou Ethylene Project.

In November 1993, the Guangzhou municipal government and China Petro-Chemical Corp. (SINOPEC) provided 8.37 billion yuan to build an ethylene plant, with the city contributing 90 percent of the money. The plant opened in August 1997 but had to stop production just three months later because of high production cost.

The plant was taken over by SINOPEC Guangzhou Petro-Chemical General Plant on January 23 of this year. The Guangzhou city government has agreed to pay 2.5 billion yuan to cover part of the debt and will completely pull out from the ethylene project.

The mayor also said his city would speed up its pace in developing high-tech industries this year and turn his city into a center of scientific and technological innovations in south China.