Investors are flocking to Hainan to take advantage of the steadily improving business environment in the southern island province, according to a recent report.

Hainan placed eighth on a list of Chinese provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions ranked by economic sustainability, according to a report released on March 25 by the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

The province's GDP was more than 285 billion yuan in 2012, according to figures from the Hainan Provincial Bureau of Statistics.

Provincial authorities have set a goal of attracting 350 billion yuan worth of investment this year.

Its growing economic strength is partly a result of Hainan's geographical and natural advantages.

Located at the southernmost tip of the country, the province sits across the South China Sea from the Southeast Asian nations. It takes less than three hours to fly from the island to major Chinese cities in the Pearl River Delta and Yangtze River Delta regions, Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan as well as to Southeast Asian countries.

Located in the tropical zone, it has a warm climate all year. With vast forests covering more than 60 percent of its land and numerous aquatic farms that produce a large variety of seafood products, the island is considered to be one of the country's best places for living and tourism.

Investors are also drawn to Hainan because of the improvements that have been made to its infrastructure in recent years.

According to the Hainan Provincial Statistics Bureau, fixed-asset investment in the province reached more than 214 billion yuan in 2012, an annual increase of 33 percent.

Of that total, investments in the manufacturing sector accounted for more than 3 billion yuan, a 60 percent increase compared to 2011. Investments in agriculture totaled more than 39.4 billion yuan, an annual increase of 29.4 percent. The rest went to the service industries, which saw annual growth of nearly 30 percent.

The island's transportation network is being extended as well.

According the 2013 work report of the provincial government, nearly 6,500 kilometers of new roads, including 130 km of expressways, have been added to Hainan's transportation system in the past five years.

The Donghuan high-speed railway, which mainly covers the eastern part of the province, became operational at the end of 2010. With a total investment of 27.1 billion yuan, the Xihuan railway is currently under construction. When completed, it will link city's in the province's western region.

Hainan is also linked via railways to major Chinese cities, including Beijing, Shanghai, Xi'an, Chengdu and Guangzhou.

In the past five years, the province's airports have opened 120 new air routes connecting it to Chinese and foreign cities, Hainan Governor Jiang Dingzhi pointed out in the 2013 government work report.

To augment existing airports in Haikou and Sanya, the province plans to invest 945 million yuan to construct a new civilian airport in Boao, a coastal resort renowned for the Boao Forum for Asia.

Rapid progress is also being made in terms of seaport construction and other facets of oceanic transportation. In 2011, bulk cargo throughput in Hainan surpassed the 100-million-ton mark for the first time. Its container throughput also surpassed 1 million units.

Electricity, water and the supply of other types of energy are improving as well.

Telecommunications have been upgraded, too, with optical cables already covering all the counties and 3G networks extending to the townships and tourism destinations.

Contact the writers through huangyiming@chinadaily.com.cn