Solar module maker ET Solar will invest about US$600 million to build a new 5-gigawatt wafer facility in northern Vietnam, the Hong Kong-headquartered company says.
The plant, which will cover 6.8 hectares in the An Ninh industrial complex in Thai Binh province, is a partnership between the Chinese company and Thai Binh-based Damsan JSC, a property developer and fabric maker. The two sides signed an agreement to develop the project on May 19.
The project’s first phase is expected to start operation in March 2023, providing more than 1,000 jobs and helping bolster the provincial economy.
ET Solar was founded in 2005 in Nanning, China, and set up ET Solar Power Hong Kong Limited in 2018 as its global headquarters in a restructuring scheme.
In Southeast Asia, the firm operates a solar cell and module factory in Cambodia, licensed in 2019 and located in Kandal province next to Phnom Penh. In Vietnam, ET Solar operates its own module plant in Quang Chau Industrial Park in Bac Giang province, also in the north. The investment for the facility when licensed in 2019 was US$30 million, according to provincial data.