The Anhui Provincial government, the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology, and the Chinese Academy of Sciences will jointly build Hefei, the capital of Anhui province, into a science town, the first of its kind in the country. The science town under planning is defined with the following goals: turning the city in the future 15 years into a renowned international science town, with clear disciplinary strength, well-functioned infrastructures, clean and beautiful environment, and an enriched cultural atmosphere. The city will become an ecologically friendly S&T park with innovative vitalities, and a role model to demonstrate the concept of coordinated sustainable development of every aspect. A number of major high tech and knowledge innovation bases will be created in the city to work on strategic topics, including energy, matter science, information and telecommunication, and environment watch. The city will also see the establishment of several service platforms, including a national center for S&T results incubation and diffusion, a national training center for high caliber S&T personnel, a mobile platform for innovation elements, an innovation information processing and service platform, an innovation resources integration and sharing platform, and an intellectual property development and utilization platform.

The Ministry of Science and Technology will provide support for the construction of S&T innovation centers and S&T results conversion platforms. It will also provide a weighted support for the construction of national key labs, engineering research centers, productivity promotion centers, S&T industrial incubators, and other infrastructure platforms. The Chinese Academy of Sciences also promises to add its support to the construction of the science town, in collaboration with the Anhui Provincial authorities, rendering its due contributions to the new initiative.