The Binhai district was created by the government of China in the 1990s. In 1996
Soviet aircraft carrier Kiev was sold to
Binhai Aircraft Park, a theme park in Binhai. The concept was developed by world tourism and attraction consultant Leisure Quest International. In August 2011, the ex-
Kiev was developed into a luxury hotel after renovations costing £9.6 million. Starting from November 2009, Binhai New Area was consolidated into a
district, and the former subordinate districts of
Tanggu,
Hangu and
Dagang were abolished. Binhai New Area consists of nine functional zones: Advanced Manufacturing Zone, Airport-based Industrial Zone, Binhai High-tech Industrial Development Zone, Seaport-based Industrial Zone, Nangang Industrial Zone, Seaport Logistics Zone, Coastal Leisure & Tourism Zone,
Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-City and the
Yujiapu Financial District. In addition,
Tianjin Port whose throughput ranks 5th in the world is also located here. The Binhai district was greatly affected by a large
industrial-scale accident in August 2015. On August 12,
a series of explosions took place at a
port chemical storage facility in Binhai, causing 173 deaths and 797 injuries. The blast had the equivalent of 21 metric tons of TNT or a magnitude-2.9 earthquake, according to the China Earthquake Networks Center. Eight other people remain missing. ==Economy==