2010-07-01 10:30

BEIJING: China Huadian Corp, one of the country's five major State-owned power generating groups, plans to spend more than 100 billion yuan ($14.7 billion) in the coming 10 years to develop coal, power and other energy projects in Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region.

The move comes weeks after rival China Huaneng Group committed a similar investment in China's Northwest, home to vast untapped deposits of coal and other resources.

China Huadian would develop coal-fired power stations, coal to chemical plants, clean energy, urban power and thermal projects and major hydropower bases in Xinjiang, the company said in a report on its website, citing a recent deal signed with Xinjiang's government.

The parent of Huadian Power International Corp Ltd aims to build 15 gigawatts of installed generating capacity, 50 million tons of annual coal production capacity and 6 billion cubic meters of coal to gas capacity in Xinjiang by 2020.

China in May unveiled a plan for developing Xinjiang, an energy-rich region of the country. As part of the development plan, Xinjiang has pioneered a resource tax reform in China from June.