Guizhou province in Southwest China is counting on the 2012 China (Guizhou) International Alcoholic Beverage Expo to draw in even more outside investors after garnering 49.74 billion yuan ($7.8 billion) of investment in contract value at last year's event.

The province plans to present 926 projects, extending beyond the alcoholic beverage sector, in hopes of raising 251 billion yuan.

These projects include 125 in the primary industry, 495 in the secondary industry, and 306 in the tertiary industry.

Meng Qiliang, vice-governor of the province, laid out four preferential policies for attracting investment in projects at the expo.

First, the projects will be included in the provincial government's key inspection lists and will enjoy follow-up services from the government.

Second, they will be given priority in terms of resource allocation and will enjoy simplified procedures for the assessment, recording and approval processes.

Third, a government official will be assigned to each project as a project consultant who will provide high quality and efficient services.

Finally, once these projects are completed, the provincial government will ask local governments to honor their promises regarding the relevant preferential policies.

The expo is part of Guizhou's drive to open up to the outside world and attract more investment. Making flexible use of the nation's industrial policies, the relatively underdeveloped region is focusing on the readjustment of its industrial structure and the development of resource-intensive processing as well as new and hi-tech industrial projects.

A series of agreements are expected to be signed during this year's exhibition, including $430 million in import and export deals and 30 billion yuan in domestic trade.

During last year's event, Guizhou signed 1,867 contracts on alcoholic beverages, with a trade volume of 49.74 billion yuan, including 1.5 billion yuan in imports and exports.