Datang International Power Generation Co, the most valuable Chinese electricity producer listed in Hong Kong, will spend 37.6 billion yuan (US$5.4 billion) on two projects to turn coal into natural gas as the nation's demand for cleaner-burning fuel rises.

The Kesheketeng Qi and Fuxin projects in northern China will have the capacity to produce four billion cubic meters of gas each, Liu Yan, head of the international department, said in Hong Kong yesterday. Each plant will consume 14 million metric tons of coal a year, he said.