China National Corporation for Overseas Economic Cooperation (CCOEC) is set to invest 2.15 billion U.S. dollars in Mexico's energy sector, it was announced at a bilateral trade forum which ended in Mexico City on Thursday.
The government of Mexico's northern state of Durango signed the agreement with the Chinese partner as part of the 2015 China-Mexico Trade and Investment Expo and Forum, which took place in Mexico City through November 10-12.
The project, in which the CCOEC will be the main investor, calls for the construction of what is known as a combined cycle plant with capacity of 1,500 megawatts.
The plant "will be built over three different stages of 500 (MW) each," Durango's Secretary of Economic Development, Ricardo Navarrete Gomez, told Xinhua.
"Each stage will be developed over a two-year period, generating 1,500 direct jobs," he explained.
According to Navarrete, China is supplying 85 percent of the investment needed, with the remaining 15 percent coming from Mexican sources.
"This is quite a large investment for Durango, but it opens up future investment" possibilities, he added.
President of CCOEC, Huo Xuejun, noted bilateral business in various fields has been "steadily" strengthened.
Huo said his company "is pleased with all the structural reforms Mexico has undertaken" in the past three years, especially the opening up of the energy sector, which is providing both foreign and Mexican private firms with opportunities to participate in the industry.
The head of the Zhonghua Business Owners Association, Bao Ronglin, told Xinhua the project, set to begin in March 2016, is certain to "lead to new jobs and economic development in Mexico."
The annual China-Mexico expo and forum drew more than 400 companies and investors from both countries this year.
The forum highlights business opportunities principally in Mexico's transformation industry, mining, oil, energy, telecommunications and agriculture.
It also served to update participants on new developments, and forge a common economic and financial agenda that promotes bilateral business cooperation.
