More than 6,000 people will be relocated in China's southern island province of Hainan to make way for a new space launch center.

Mayor Yan Zheng of Wenchang City, on Hainan's northeastern coast, said at a meeting on land acquisition on Monday that 1,200 hectares would be obtained for the center.

The city's Party chief, Xie Mingzhong, promised they would properly handle issues concerning those to be resettled, such as employment, medical care and education.

Residents to be relocated will be mainly from Longlou and Dongjiao townships in Wenchang, a sparsely populated area in Hainan Island.

A special working detachment, consisting of 19 smaller groups, has been set up to take care of all affairs regarding land acquisition.

The detailed resettlement plan is still being worked on, said Xie.

The new launch center is expected to be completed in 2012 and formally put into use in 2013.

The site would be mainly used for launching synchronous satellites, heavy satellites, large space stations, and deep space probe satellites, according to a plan published in late September.

The plan has been approved by the State Council and the Central Military Commission.

A space themed park, with a budget of seven billion yuan (about US$875 million) and occupying an area of 407 hectares, will also be constructed near the launch center. It is envisioned to create jobs for resettlers.

Hainan is located in a low-latitude region, which could help increase the capacity of rocket carriers and extend the life span of satellites.

China currently has three satellite launch centers, located in Jiuquan of Gansu Province, Taiyuan of Shanxi Province, and Xichang of Sichuan Province.

(Xinhua News Agency October 30, 2007)