Hitachi, Ltd.(TSE:6501) and ITOCHU Corporation(TSE:8001) today announced that it 
has received an order for two 600,000kW steam turbines to be installed in a major coal-
fired thermal power plant operated by China Hebei Power Company in Inner Mongolia. 

The power plant will be built in the City of Tokato, Inner Mongolia, which is located 
near the coal-rich Jungal coal fields approximately 450 kilometers west of Beijing. The 
facility is strategically positioned to serve the expected rise in demand for electricity 
from Hebei province. In the future, China Hebei Power Company will build three power 
plants A, B, and C in Tokato equipped with six 600,000kW turbines for a combined 
capacity of 10.8 million kW. The area will thus be home to the largest power generation 
facilities in China, and part of the output will be supplied to Beijing via high-voltage 
cables. 

The contract awarded to Hitachi for two 600,000kW turbines represents the first stage 
of construction for the Takato A Power Plant and is a strategic project in China's Ninth 
Five-Year Plan. Scheduled to begin operation in 2003 or 2004, the power plant is 
funded by a US$400 million loan from the World Bank in 1997. 

Hitachi won this contract in a competitive bid with leading power equipment 
manufacturers from around the world. Hitachi has been involved in technological 
alliances in the power generation field in China since the early 1990s. Hitachi won this 
contract not only for the high quality and efficiency of its equipment but also for the 
work it has done with Dong Fang Power Company, one of the largest power companies 
in China, to help it lower its operating costs. 

The market for coal-fueled thermal power plants is growing as demand for larger-scale 
and more-efficient facilities rises. Hitachi and Itochu will continue working to win new 
orders for thermal power facilities in China.