A groundbreaking ceremony was held for Vaillant Group's new research and development and production base in Wuxi National Hi-tech District on March 21. [Photo/WeChat account: xinwu_wx]

German company Vaillant Group's new research and development and production base in Wuxi National Hi-tech District (WND) broke ground on March 21.

Vaillant, which specializes in developing products for heating and cooling, will spend 1.04 billion yuan ($151.13 million) to build the facility.  

The first phase of the project is expected to produce 1.5 million wall-hung gas boilers and components, and generate annual sales of 1.5 billion yuan.

According to Zheng Liangya, general manager of Vaillant's Asia-Pacific R&D and production base, the project in Wuxi is the largest investment by the company in recent years and demonstrates its confidence in the city's industrial base, living environment, and high-quality human resources.

Agreements for 10 other projects with a total investment of over 8 billion yuan were also signed during the groundbreaking ceremony. The projects, which are related to industries including biomedicine and high-end manufacturing, are expected to generate more than 11 billion yuan in annual sales.

Zhang Jinwei, head of WND, said the projects will inject strong momentum to the district's economic growth and that WND will continue providing favorable policies and comprehensive services to companies.