(Yicai Global) March 23 -- Shares of Zhongli Group soared after the cable manufacturer and green energy firm said it will join hands with partners to build solar power projects in northern China.

Zhongli's stock price [SHE:002309] rose 10 percent to CNY7.83 (USD1.20) as of noon. The shares are almost 15 percent up this year.

The wire maker will team with investors to construct solar cell and module plants and photovoltaic power projects in Fuping county in Hebei province with a total investment of around CNY26 billion (USD4.1 billion), the Jiangsu province-based company said in a statement yesterday.

The plan should help Zhongli boost its self-developed PV equipment output while helping Fuping achieve the goals of rural revitalization and low-carbon economic development, said the firm.

The module project will have an annual capacity of five gigawatts of both solar cell and module production plants. Zhongli will form a joint venture with an investment firm under the Fuping county government for the project. The JV will invest around CNY5 billion (USD784.6 million) in the next five years to build the project.

The solar park project will have an annual capacity of at least three gigawatts. Zhongli will bring in strategic partners for the undertaking that requires a total investment of CNY21 billion.

The projects will be built in three stages. After the first part, some 60 percent of the module plant's capacity should be reached. For the solar park, the same schedule applies to one GW, or potentially a third of the full number. The second stage will begin in June 2023, and the third one in 2024.

This is not Zhongli's only effort to expand its green energy layout. The firm has an annual capacity of 15 GW of large-size PV modules and more than 11 GW of solar power plants under construction globally, according to the company.

Editor: Emmi Laine, Xiao Yi