ERDENET, Mongolia, March 22 (Xinhua) -- A groundbreaking ceremony for the China-funded expansion of a thermal power plant was held in Erdenet, the capital city of the northern Mongolian province of Orkhon on Friday.

Mongolian Energy Minister Tserenpil Davaasuren, director general of the power plant Legtseg Erkhbaatar, Economic and Commercial Counsellor of the Chinese Embassy to Mongolia Song Xuejun and relevant officials of the project executor, China's Hunan Industrial Equipment Installation Co. Ltd, attended the ceremony.

The expansion of the thermal power plant will improve its overall capacity by 35 megawatts (MW), Davaasuren said at the ceremony.

Erdenet is one of the fastest growing cities in Mongolia, he said, expressing confidence that the expansion of the Erdenet thermal power plant will contribute greatly to not only the future development of the city, but also to the development of the national energy sector.

For his part, Song said: "It is a historic moment of bilateral relations and cooperation between our two countries. I am very happy to have witnessed this historic event."

He said that with the Belt and Road Initiative and Mongolia's Development Road Initiative being linked, major cooperation projects between the two countries are being continuously implemented.

This year marks the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries.

"In this important year of the 70th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries, it is all the more important for us to work together to promote bilateral relations to a new level and to benefit the peoples of the two countries through enhanced cooperation," Song said.

Hunan Industrial Equipment Installation Co. Ltd. is the same company that previously conducted the expansion of Thermal Power Plant No.3 in the Mongolian capital of Ulan Bator.

The expansion of the Erdenet thermal power plant is scheduled to be completed within a year, according to the company.