Beijing (PingWest)- Chinese genomics company BGI Group will provide Ethiopia with 1.5 million coronavirus testing that will be manufactured at a factory in the African country, China’s state media agency Xinhua reported on Tuesday.

The BGI factory, opened earlier this month, is the first coronavirus test production facility in Ethiopia. It is designed to be able to make 6-8 million tests in a year and can expand the annual capacity to up to 10 million based on local demand.

BGI, which makes genome sequencing and medical devices, is hoping to use its footprint in Ethiopia as the starting point for the expansion of its supplies to other African countries

Ethiopia’s health ministry has signed an agreement to purchase 1.5 million coronavirus testing kits from the BGI factory in three batches, with the first batch of 500,000 testing kits to be delivered on October 15, the report said, adding that the plant will later manufacture testing kits for diseases such as malaria and tuberculosis and export them to other African countries when the pandemic ends.

BGI Genomics, a unit of BGI Group, said it supplied over 35 million coronavirus testing kits outside China and built 58 labs in 18 countries as of June 30.