Beijing-based China Guodian Corp, parent of GD Power Development Company<600795>, has commenced construction of a RMB 4.5 billion (US$658 million) coal-fired plant in Nanning, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, in an effort to further boost economic development, market sources said.

China Guodian said in a statement that the plant is designed to have two generating units of 600 megawatts each in the first phase of the project, while another two units of 1,000 megawatts each will be added in the second phase.

The company planned to set up a property insurance company in Beijing, with a registered capital of RMB 1 billion, China Knowledge reported earlier. China Guodian Corporation will hold the majority stake in the proposed insurance company, which is scheduled to start operation by the end of 2009.