April 27 -- South China's Guangdong Province will purchase more than 20 million tons of coal from around the world in 2007, a new record double last year's total, Xinhua news agency reports.

Guangdong's coal imports will continue to grow in the coming years as the province continues its rapid development, said Yang Jianchu, an official from Guangdong Provincial Economic Commission.

"Relevant departments and companies of Guangdong are now busy negotiating with their foreign counterparts to import more coal in the near future," he added.

Guangdong, one of the country's economic powerhouses, is the largest coal consumer on the Chinese mainland.

Last year alone, the region consumed more than 100 million tons of coal, roughly 8 percent of the country's total. All Guangdong's coal was purchased outside the province, much of it from abroad.