China's top economic planner, the National Development and Reform Commission, has approved the plan to build a 7.1-billion-ton coal mining region in Northwest China's Gansu province, People's Daily reported Monday.

Ningzheng mining region is located in eastern Gansu, covering an area of 1,100 square kilometers. The mining region was designed to produce 20 million tons of coal annually after construction, which will become one of the largest energy bases in Northwest China.

The mining region will develop coal mining, coal conversion and coal transporting industries. Part of the coal produced from the region will be transformed into other energy mode on site, while others will be transported through Xi'an-Pingliang railway to other regions.