(Yicai) Sept. 5 -- East China Engineering Science and Technology, an engineering construction services provider under China National Chemical Engineering Group Corporation, won a contract to build Bolivia's first large chemical plant.

The factory, located in Uyuni, Potosí province, and owned by state-owned enterprise Química Industrial Bolivia, will produce sulfuric acid, hydrochloric acid, sodium hydroxide, calcium hydroxide, and sodium carbonate, East China Engineering announced yesterday.

The Hefei-based company will be responsible for all development stages of the plant, from engineering design to building to after-sales services. The construction period is expected to be 46 months, with 12 more months of operating appraisal.

The engineering, procurement, and construction contract East China Engineering signed with the Bolivian authority supervising the development of SOEs is worth BOB2.6 billion (USD371.5 million), 70 percent of which will be settled in Chinese yuan.

The project, which has already passed Bolivia's national budget review, has a value equal to 35 percent of East China Engineering's revenue last year, the firm noted. Therefore, the smooth implementation of the project will have a positive impact on East China Engineering's financial performance and help the company expand its presence in the South American engineering construction services market.

Last year, East China Engineering's revenue from the chemical plant construction business accounted for nearly 89 percent of its total revenue, with the remaining mainly coming from the building of environmental governance infrastructure, according to its latest annual report. Overseas business only contributed 0.4 percent to the company's total.

Shares of East China Engineering [SHE: 002140] closed 1.2 percent up at CNY6.61 (93 US cents) in Shenzhen today.

Editor: Futura Costaglione