Great Bay University's Binhaiwan Bay Campus has cleared a key planning hurdle, with the Dongguan Development & Reform Bureau formally approving the feasibility study report for the campus's second phase—a project with an estimated investment of more than 4.3 billion yuan that will move the expansion from the drawing board towards construction.
The Phase II site covers about 56.4 hectares (846 mu) in the northwest of Weiyuan Island in the Dongguan Binhaiwan Bay Area, east of the confluence of the Taiping Waterway and the Pearl River, with the Guangzhou-Shenzhen Coastal Expressway running along its northeastern edge. The phase will add 450,000 square metres of floor space and is expected to take 28 months to build.
Phase II comprises three parts: teaching and research, campus life, and sports and cultural exchange. Facilities will include teaching and college buildings, a library, an academic exchange centre, an innovation and entrepreneurship base, a canteen, dormitories, faculty apartments, a clinic and a gymnasium, alongside covered walkways, underground parking and outdoor amenities. Once complete, the project will give the campus more space and better facilities.
Great Bay University aims to serve national strategies and industrial upgrading, using its "University Plus" model to train high-calibre researchers. Its goal is to become a new type of research university that meets international standards, is open and inclusive and has a distinctive Greater Bay Area identity.
The university follows a "one university, two campuses" model. Its 256-mu (about 17.1-hectare) Songshan Lake Campus opened in April 2024.
The Binhaiwan Bay Campus is being developed in three phases. Phase I covers about 488 mu (32.5 hectares), with 185,000 square metres of floor space. This phase is scheduled to open in 2027. Work on landscaping and mechanical and electrical systems is now in full swing. Phase II is key to expanding the campus and building up its core disciplines, while Phase III will cover about 502 mu (33.5 hectares), with 115,000 square metres of floor space. Together, the three phases will create a fully functional campus.
Author: Li Jingru
Photos: Nanfang Plus
