2010-06-28 11:45

A draft plan to build an international energy city in Urumqi, capital of Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, has been completed and is expected to be submitted to the State Council for approval before the end of the year, Beijing Business Today reported Monday.

The energy city was designed to be built into an integrated energy base with production, assembly and service functions, covering an area of 30.8 square kilometers in desert and semi-desert areas in Urumqi's suburb. The project is estimated to contribute over 100 billion yuan a year to Xinjiang's economy.

Xu Fengxian, researcher with the Institute of Economics at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and a consultant on the project, was confident that the State Council would give the green light to the project and that the project would bring mass investment opportunities to Xinjiang.

Sinopec, PetroChina and CNOOC have launched initial investments there, the report said.