Chinese Government provides RMB 260 million grant for Taean Friendship Glass Factory Construction Project in North Korea

In 2004, China’s Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) agreed to provide an RMB 260 million grant for the Taean Friendship Glass Factory Construction Project.

The purpose of the project was to construct a 293,000 square meter glass factory — located 50 kilometers outside of Pyongyang in the port city of Namp'o (Nampo) within Choje-ri and Taean-guyŏk (exact locational coordinates: 38.82159, 125.52153) — with float glass production capacity of 300 tons per day.

The factory produces plate glass and other glass products and it has both a pier and a railway connection.

Most raw materials, such as sand, feldspar, sodium carbonate and dolomite, arrive by ship via the factory's pier from nearby sources.

The rail spur from the Taean freight station located on the Korean State Railway's Taean Line, enters the factory itself, and plate glass is loaded into railcars indoors. The electricity powering the plant is supplied by the P'yŏngyang Thermal Power Plant.

Qinhuangdao Yaohua Design Institute (秦皇岛耀华设计院) was the contractor responsible for project design and China Yaohua Glass Group (中国耀华玻璃集团公司) was the contractor responsible or project implementation. The project commenced on July 1, 2004 and was completed on October 4, 2005.

A formal project completion ceremony held on October 9, 2005 was attended by the Chinese Vice Premier Wu Yi and North Korean General Secretary Kim Jong-il. Then, on October 29, 2005, Hu Jintao, Kim Jong-il, and several other North Korean leaders visited glass factory.

On January 16, 2007, China’s Ambassador Liu Xiaoming visited the factory and praised the bonds between the two communist states. Then, on November 25, 2010. Kim Jong-il, visited the factory.

On November 22, 2018, the Chinese Ambassador to North Korea, Li Jinjun, led a diplomatic entourage to visit the factory.