(Yicai Global) Feb. 24 -- Shares of Guangdong province-based Electric Power Development rose after the Chinese electric utility said that it will invest CNY10.5 billion (USD1.6 billion) in photovoltaic and wind power projects in western China over the next three years.

EPD's stock price [SHE:000539] was 3.3 percent up at CNY3.75 (58 US dollar cents) in the afternoon after jumping as much as 7.7 percent earlier.

The company penned a cooperation framework agreement with the city of Tumxuk in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, it said in a statement yesterday. The exact location of the plants will be chosen within three months and the firm will set up project companies to oversee construction.

EPD will invest almost CNY6.8 billion (USD1.1 billion) to build a solar power station with a total installed capacity of 1.5 million kilowatts. It also plans to invest nearly CNY3.8 billion in a wind power plant with a capacity of 500,000 kW, according to the agreement.

Tumxuk is rich in solar and wind power resources, according to EPD. The city is also an important stop along the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway that is still under construction, it added.

Editor: Emmi Laine, Xiao Yi