Baotou Jiuyi Energy Chemical Co is to cooperate with HBIS Group and China Oceanwide Energy Investment Baotou Co -- on a coal-based clean energy new materials and coal chemical project -- with an agreement reached on Dec 17, according to the Baotou Daily.

Li Heyi, an official from the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of Hebei province and Wang Xiulian, deputy mayor of Baotou, attended the signing ceremony.

The project will include five subprojects and auxiliary projects. It will develop a carbon coke production line, an LNG production line, a tar production line, an electrode materials production line and an engineering plastics production line.

A total of 13 billion yuan ($1.86 billion) will be invested in the three-phase project.

The first phase, worth 2.648 billion yuan, is expected to be put into production at the end of June 2020.

The construction work on the foundation engineering of the second and third phase is scheduled to begin in April 2020.

After the project is completed, it is expected to realize annual output value of 14.3 billion yuan, a profit and tax of 3.5 billion yuan and create employment for some 2,000 people.