(Yicai) March 27 -- A unit of Power Construction Corporation of China, the state-owned infrastructure contractor also known as PowerChina, will design and strip Bangladesh's largest coal mine for about CNY7 billion (USD970 million).

PowerChina International Group inked the deal for the Phulbari coal mine with UK GCM Resources, Beijing-based PowerChina announced yesterday. The mine is located in the Dinajpur district of northwest Bangladesh.

The project includes the design of the mining infrastructure and overburden removal, procuring and installing stripping equipment, dewatering and drainage, ground production system, and sewage treatment, it added.

The contract is for four years, including two years of overburden removal to expose the first coal for mining, with no warranty period.

Established in 2009, PowerChina's main business includes infrastructure engineering and the construction and design of energy and power projects. It inked deals worth over CNY1.1 trillion (USD152.4 billion) last year, a 13.2 percent increase on the prior year.

Shares of PowerChina [SHA: 601669] finished 1.2 percent lower at CNY4.92 (68 US cents) each today. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index lost 1.3 percent.

Editor: Martin Kadiev