(Yicai Global) Nov. 13 -- Sichuan Science and Technology Association will invest CNY12 billion (USD1.8 billion) in collaboration with strategic partners to set up a Chinese science fiction town in the Tianfu International Airport New Area in Chengdu, capital of western China's Sichuan province, state-run China News Service reported.

The sci-fi town will feature a provincial natural history museum, national sci-fi literature museum, writing incubator, film and television production base, national science museum research and design center, national media base, national science and technology innovation center, education industry park and a sci-fi theme park, according to an agreement signed by the administrative committee of Chengdu Tianfu International Airport New Area and Science and Technology Association.

Chengdu has introduced a number of major cultural industry parks in a bid to establish the city as a creative hub in western China. Hailed as the country's first sci-fi industry cluster, the town will seek to create a business ecosystem to drive development of the national sci-fi market. It hopes to become a local landmark, nationwide capital of science fiction and a cultural hub for the import and export of sci-fi pieces.

The town will encompass five dimensions of the sci-fi industry chain: magazines, books, films and television, games and a theme park. It will focus on two closely connected businesses in science fiction -- popularization and education -- to attract sci-fi projects from China and the rest of the world, making it competitive in terms of branding, human resources, technology and product development. An official at the Sichuan Science and Technology Association believes the town will generate more than CNY2 billion (USD300 million) and 12 million visitors a year, and create 6,000 to 8,000 new jobs.

As a permanent venue for China Chengdu International Science Fiction Conference and a unique state-level cultural industry demonstration park, the project will play a significant role in the development of the cultural and creative industry in Chengdu.

The town will also help Tianfu International Airport New Area attract leading companies, startups, research initiatives and talent from the cultural, creative, entertainment, animation, media and artificial intelligence sectors, an official on the new area's admin committee said. The project will boost innovation-driven economic growth in the area and boost metropolitan services, he added.