(Yicai) Jan. 5 -- Shenzhen, the Chinese city that is home to leading civilian drone maker DJI Technology, has released the country's first regulations for the industry around the low-altitude economy to support its further development.

The regulations, which will take effect on Feb. 1, have 61 provisions on infrastructure, flight services, industry applications, technology innovation, and security management, the Shenzhen government said on its website yesterday. The provisions are designed to guide capital into the industry through direct investment, finance leases, and other methods.

According to the government’s announcement, the low-altitude economy refers to the low-altitude flight activities of civil manned and unmanned aircraft as the driving force behind the integrated development of industries in the fields of aircraft research and development, production, sales, and the construction and operation of related infrastructure, flight support, and derivative comprehensive services.

The regulations will push organizations, businesses, and individuals to explore the application of low-altitude flights in different fields, including emergency rescue, logistics and delivery, transportation, and tourism.

The Shenzhen government aims to promote the opening of intra-city, intercity, cross-border, and other passenger and cargo low-altitude routes and support the development of low-altitude shuttle flights at airports, railroad stations, ports, and core business districts.

The regulations also mention that the government will set up a collaborative management system for low-altitude flights with air traffic and civil aviation agencies to solve issues such as airspace allocation and flight activity supervision.

The industry looks forward to a unified low-altitude flight service platform being set up as soon as possible, which would immediately improve the operational efficiency of companies and unleash the sector’s development potential, the head of a Shenzhen-based low-altitude flight service firm told Yicai.

Shenzhen has already issued policies to support the low-altitude economy. On Dec. 27, it rolled out a policy to award up to CNY20 million (USD2.8 million) every year to companies starting new low-altitude logistics and delivery routes in the city.

The value of civilian drones made in Shenzhen reached almost CNY75 billion (USD10.5 billion) in 2022, accounting for 70 percent of the country's total, while its consumer UAVs had 70 percent of the global market share. The number of low-altitude flights in the city has also risen rapidly, with drones, including consumer ones, making 3.8 million flights in 2022.

Chinese drone giant DJI is based in the city’s Nanshan district.

The cities of Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Chengdu along with Hainan province are also developing their own local low-altitude economies. In China, the low-altitude economy industry was worth CNY2.5 trillion (USD351.1 billion) in 2022, according to data from Yuntu Zhixing.

Editor: Martin Kadiev