Construction has begun on the RMB15 billion Dalian Tiandi Software Park in China's northeast.

As the second phase of Dalian Software Park, Dalian Tiandi Software Park is jointly developed by Hong Kong based Shui On Group's affiliates Shui On Real Estate and Shui On Construction, and Dalian Yida Group. With an estimated investment of RMB15 billion, the park will occupy more than 4 million meters in construction area and it will be a multi-functional park that combines software development, living areas, educational installations, and leisure facilities.

Dalian Mayor Xia Deren said at the initiation ceremony last Sunday that Dalian's outsourcing services have gained a good reputation in the international market and the city has the ability to be a new leader in the global software industry. Xia said that Dalian would create a strategy to further enlarge the policy support on software services and solve the talent shortage problem as soon as possible to create a good environment for the software industry.

Dalian's software and service outsourcing has been growing rapidly in recent years. In 2006, the city's total software output value reached RMB14.5 billion, an increase of 45%, of which $450 million was from exports, increasing by 50%.