A technician monitors equipment on an existing JA Solar crystalline silicon production line in Baotou. [Photo/Baotou Daily]

JA Solar is to develop a production plant for silicon wafers -- a major component in solar power panels -- in the city of Baotou in North China's Inner Mongolia autonomous region.

The total investment for the plant will be 5.02 billion yuan ($773 million), according to local media reports.

The project involves construction of support facilities including crystal pulling workshops, wire cutting workshops and the installation of production and support equipment such as single crystal furnaces and wire cutting machines.

The plant is expected to achieve an annual production capacity of 20 gigawatts.

Founded in 2005, JA Solar is a manufacturer of high-performance photovoltaic products for the global solar power industry covering silicon, batteries, components and photovoltaic power plants.

The company has set up more than 12 production plants and more than 20 units in more than 100 countries and regions. Its products are widely used in solar power parks -- as well as in industrial and commercial and also residential solar power distribution systems.

Officials said that with its first-rate technological innovation, solid financial performance and its well-developed global sales and service network, JA Solar has been favored by domestic and international customers for many years.

The group has been listed among the Fortune China Top 500 and Global Top 500 New Energy Companies.

According to the announcement, JA Solar's current ratio of international shipments has been maintained at about 70 percent, with the US market mainly depending on overseas production capacity. As more of the company's international production capacity goes into production, shipments will gradually increase.

JA Solar's revenue has grown steadily in recent years. In the third quarter of 2020, the company achieved operating income of 16.70 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 23.5 percent.