Chinalco, the parent of listed Aluminum Corp of China Ltd, said it has won approval from the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) to set up a joint venture titanium plant in the northeastern city of Harbin with UK-based Aricom Plc.

    The NDRC is China's top economic planning agency.

    Chinalco said in a statement published on the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission that the first phase of the project will yield annual capacity of 15,000 tons.

    Total investment is projected at 2.2 billion yuan ($322 million).

    State media reported earlier that Aricom will hold 65 percent of the venture, while Chinalco will own the remainder. The plant is expected to be operational by 2010.