(Yicai Global) March 30 -- A unit of China Petrochemical & Chemical, or Sinopec, the country's biggest oil major, has kicked off its third face mask fabric production line in its goal of building 16 of them by the end of May to meet the rising global demand for protective equipment.

Sinopec Yizheng Chemical Fibre's new production line in Jiangsu province is expected to churn out 500 tons of meltblown non-woven fabric every year, The Paper reported. With the 16 projects, the annual capacity should reach 10,000 tons that can be used to make more than 10 billion face masks. Two assembly lines are ready in Beijing.

The Beijing-based parent said on Feb. 25 hat it will invest CNCY200 million (USD28.2 million) to boost its capacity to make meltblown non-woven and spunbonded fabrics in the two cities amid the global surge in demand.

The Yizheng facility will house 12 production lines by the end of May to increase the daily output so that 18 million masks could be made. Another two assembly lines will be built in Beijing.

Editor: Emmi Laine