(Yicai Global) Feb. 2 -- Shares in Zhonghuan Semiconductor, a leading Chinese silicon wafer manufacturer, gained today on plans to invest CNY12 billion (USD1.9 billion) to build a solar wafer production base in northwestern China that can produce 210mm-diameter wafers, one of the largest sizes available that are just coming onto the market.

Zhonghuan Semiconductor’s share price [SHE:002129] closed up 1.84 percent at CNY28.29 (USD4.38) today.

The new factory, which will be located at the Yinchuan Economic and Technological Development Zone in the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, will have an annual output of 50 gigawatts, nearly triple its current production capacity of large-size wafers, Zhonghuan Semiconductor said.

Recent technological advancements have enabled the size of silicon wafers to get bigger. This has obvious advantages and can help cut costs for mid- and downstream battery and module makers as well as power station operators. Zhonghuan Semiconductor is expected to build only 210mm wafer plants in the next few years.

Once completed, the Tianjin-based firm will have a total annual production capacity of 135 gigawatts of monocrystalline silicon wafers, it said. The Ningxia government will subsidize electricity and provide other forms of support, it added.

Editor: Kim Taylor