The construction of a mega oil-refining and petrochemical project began on Monday in east China's Fujian Province.

The project has a total investment of 71.1 billion yuan (about 9.9 billion U.S. dollars), which is the largest industrial investment in Fujian to date.

The construction site is located on the Gulei petrochemical base in the city of Zhangzhou. The project is 50 percent owned by Fujian Petrochemical, while Sinopec and Saudi Aramco each hold a 25 percent stake, according to Sinopec, China's major oil refiner.

The project is designed to have an annual oil-refining capacity of 16 million tonnes, an ethylene capacity of 1.5 million tonnes and an aromatic hydrocarbon capacity of 2 million tonnes, and it will include a 300,000-tonne crude oil terminal.

It is expected to be fully operational in 2030, after which time it will supply 5 million tonnes of raw materials for downstream companies on the Gulei petrochemical base annually, and help improve the industrial chain there. Its anticipated annual output value is approximately 80.8 billion yuan.