SOFIA - The first photovoltaic plant invested and built by Chinese companies in Bulgaria was officially opened here on Tuesday evening.

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The 2-MW Photovoltaic plant, based on unique Chinese technology, is located in a mountain near Ihtiman, 40 km south from the Bulgarian capital Sofia. It was built in seven months by the Chinese companies Polar Photovoltaics and Wiscom, who invested $7 million, and their local construction partner SunSERVICE.

"This is the first successful example of Sino-Bulgarian cooperation in this field," the Chinese ambassador to Bulgaria Guo Yezhou told the opening ceremony held in the Sheraton hotel in Sofia.

"I am convinced that there is plenty of room for cooperation between China and Bulgaria in this area," Guo said.

Ge Ning, chairman of the board of directors of Wiscom, said the company would seek more investments in solar energy in Bulgaria.

Stanley Sun, his counterpart from Polar Photovoltaics, said the project was a good example of joint investment efforts between Polar and Wiscom. He said the two Chinese companies and their Bulgarian partner SunSERVICE had good team work.

Working with the Chinese partners was extremely easy, they were extremely accurate and correct, Rumen Hristov, Chief Executive Officer of SunSERVICE said. "We expect extremely beneficial joint projects with China," he said.