Guangdong has received approval from the State Council to build a marine economic development zone, the 21st Century Business Herald reported Thursday.

The southern province plans to have its marine economy reach 1.5 trillion yuan ($223.05 billion) by 2015, which will account for a quarter of its GDP.

Guangdong's marine output leads the country's provinces, and was worth 829.1 billion yuan in 2010, contributing 18.2 percent of its GDP.

The province's annual marine economy growth averaged 17.8 percent during the 11th Five-Year Plan (2006-2010).

Guangdong will be home to China's third marine economic development zone after Shangdong and Zhejiang.