HARBIN, June 26  -- Construction of a new Coca Cola plant started on Thursday in Harbin, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, as part of the beverage giant's plan to invest four billion U.S. dollars in China.

The plant, with a total investment of 620 million yuan (around 100 million dollars), will cover an area of 200,000 square meters in the city's economic-technological development zone, said Guo Mu, general manager of Coca Cola China's Heilongjiang branch.

The first stage of the project is expected to be completed by 2016, with an estimated annual production capacity of 1.2 million tonnes of drinks including Coca Cola, Sprite, Fanta, Minute Maid and Ice Dew, said Guo.

The project's construction and operation will be based on green technologies, using water-saving, noise reduction, and waste processing technologies based on the Silver Certification of Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Building Rating System, he said.

Coca Cola plans to invest four billion U.S. dollars from 2012 to 2014 in China, the company's third-largest market around the world.