Government officials and business representatives pose for a group photo at the Tongwei Solar (Hefei) Co in the Hefei National High-tech Industry Development Zone in Anhui province on Jan 8. [Photo from WeChat account hefeigaoxinfabu]

Tongwei Solar (Hefei) Co recently attracted praise for its solar cell manufacturing project in the Hefei National High-tech Industry Development Zone in Anhui province.

A wholly-owned branch of Tongwei Group, a conglomeration of agriculture, new energy, chemical industry, food, construction, real estate, and media businesses, the Hefei base was put into operation in 2013 with a designed capacity of five-gigawatts (GW) of manufactured solar cells and modules. 

The second phase of the project, now under construction, features solar cell and module capacities of 2.4GW and 350MW respectively. 

It will cover 16 production lines – fully enclosed and automatic for high-efficiency solar cell manufacturing – making it another success after Tongwei's previous projects in the digital field in Chengdu city, Southwest China's Sichuan province. 

Song Guoquan, Party chief of Hefei, gave a thumbs-up to the company, saying it has helped elevate the city's photovoltaic (PV) industry to a higher level and has set a good example for local privately-run businesses in the areas of intelligent manufacturing and efficient management. 

Liu Hanyuan from Tongwei Group said the company is actively planning a third-phase project, aiming to strike a more important role in boosting the local economy and environmental protection. 

His words won approval from Li Jinbin, Party chief of Anhui province, who pledged to support Anhui private enterprises and create a better business climate for them to operate in.