Shanghai plans to establish 43 modern service industry "harbors" to boost the service sector of the country's economic powerhouse.

The "harbours," located around the transportation centres of the city and its suburban areas, will bring together office buildings, star-rated hotels and facilities for business and day to day living, said Wang Bo, an official from the Shanghai Economic Commission.

"The centralization of facilities in certain areas will improve the areas' service capabilities, as well as being economical on resources," said Wang.

Wang noted that the government is hoping to attract more multinational service enterprises' headquarters to the "harbours."

Vice-Mayor Hu Yanzhao, appealed to the city's big State-owned enterprises and private companies, at a conference held last Wednesday, to actively participate in the construction of the "harbours."

The construction of the first 12 such hubs, is supposed to start sometime between this year and 2006. They will include a digital city in Xujiahui area to cater for the digital entertainment industry, a theme park in Songjiang District aimed at tourists, and a complex to the north of the Northern Bund International Passenger Wharf to serve the shipping industry.

"Nine will be constructed, and the other three, which already exist, will be expanded or improved," said Wang.

The Shanghai municipal government unveiled an outline for developing the city's modern service industry earlier this year, ranking the project as one of the most critical challenges the city is facing.

Experts from the city's Development and Reform Commission noted that the service industry has become a strong impetus for economic growth.

It is said that the service industry accounts for more than 60 per cent of the world's GDP and that the consumption in service industry is responsible for half of the world's total consumption.

Within Shanghai, the service sector accounts for around 51 per cent of the city's total employment.

But the service industries, which proved to be a goldmine during the 1990s, are becoming less important within the city's fast economic development.