(Yicai Global) March 14 -- Chinese solar panel giant Longi Green Energy Technology has announced three large-scale capacity expansion projects in the coal capital of China for a total investment of CNY19.5 billion (USD3.1 billion).

Longi will build a monocrystalline silicon project with an annual capacity of 20 gigawatt, a 30 GW high-efficiency monocrystalline cell project, and a 5 GW high-efficiency photovoltaic module project in Ordos, in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, the Xi’an-based PV products supplier said late yesterday, citing the investment cooperation agreement it signed with the local government on March 12.

The company will invest CNY7.6 billion, CNY10.3 billion, and CNY1.6 billion, respectively, to buy, install, and debug production equipment, run the three plants, and rent workshops, it noted.

Each project must go into operation within six months and reach the designated capacity within 24 months since the workshops and ancillary facilities are delivered to the firm, Longi added.

Shares of Longi [SHA: 601012] were trading up 0.1 percent at CNY80.55 (USD12.68) apiece as of 2.15 p.m. today, after earlier gaining as much as 2.8 percent.

Longi is the world’s largest monocrystalline silicon provider, as its product’s capacity makes up around half of the global total. Its annual capacity of monocrystalline silicon is expected to reach 105 GW, that of cells 38 GW, and that of battery modules 65 GW by the end of 2021, according to a prediction Longi’s senior managers told investors last June.

Editor: Futura Costaglione