GE announced Friday that it has completed an expansion project for its healthcare manufacturing facility in Shanghai.

The second phase of the project, located at Shanghai Zhangjiang High-tech Park, with a total investment of 74 million U.S. dollars, will double the capacity of the plant that produces X Ray and MRI contrast agents as well as sterile injectable products and nutritional supplements.

GE Healthcare Shanghai is the first US FDA approved site for contrast agents in China. As one of the largest contrast agent manufacturers in China, the company racked up domestic sales of about 26 million U.S. dollars in 2006 and exported production worth more than 95 million U.S. dollars.

"The expansion project will make our Shanghai facility one of the critical centers in the global supply chain for contrast agents and other bioscience products," says Qian Weijia, General Manager of GE Healthcare Shanghai.

GE, the world's largest multi-business company with products and services ranging from aircraft engines, locomotives, power generation, oil & gas, healthcare, lighting, water and security, to media and financial services, has been actively expanding its presence in Shanghai in recent years and its total investment in Shanghai now exceeds 554 million U.S. dollars.

"The Shanghai government's plan to create a Better City, Better Life fits well with GE's 'ecomagination' initiative that focuses on environmentally friendly products," said Steve Bertamini, Chairman & CEO of GE North East Asia and Greater China.

"We are confident that our strategic partnership with Shanghai will continue to flourish," he said.

Source: Xinhua