(Yicai Global) Jan. 30 -- East China Engineering Science and Technology Co. [SHE:002140] (ECEC) will undertake the preliminary design, blueprint design and related tasks for a lithium carbonate project with an annual output of 20,000 tons in the city of Golmud in China's northwestern Qinghai province per a contract whose value is CNY30 million (USD5 million).

The company inked the agreement with Golmud Zangge Lithium Industry Co., the former announced yesterday.

The company will finish the preliminary design within one month after receiving the main equipment information from Zangge Lithium Industry. The parties will negotiate the detailed construction schedule after the project kicks off, per the announcement. Zangge Lithium Industry is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Zangge Holding Co. [SHE:000408] and mainly produces and sells lithium carbonate.

The rise of the new-energy automobile industry is bringing the supply of main raw materials for lithium batteries into prominence. Qinghai, with its many salt lakes, has become a hotspot of development and production of lithium compound products.