Construction of a mega biopharmaceutical project in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, has officially begun with a groundbreaking event held on Friday.

Covering more than 350,000 square meters in its first stage, the bio-campus is expected to cost $800 million. The development is being funded by the Guangzhou Development District, General Electric and other companies planning to operate at the bio-campus in the future.

The project is expected to become a leading biopharmaceutical and health industrial park and is predicted to generate $4 billion to $8 billion in production in the following years, Guangzhou Vice-Mayor Chen Zhiying said.

"The project is also expected to play a big part in the economic development of Guangzhou which is making its top priorities to develop information technology, artificial intelligence and biopharmaceutical industries," Chen said.

GE senior executive Jan Makela said GE and Guangzhou have a long-term partnership.

"Guangzhou is GE China's south region headquarters and an important sourcing hub for our multiple businesses. And now we are very pleased to extend our partnership to life sciences and biomanufacturing," Makela said.

"Guangzhou is also a pharmaceutical export hub for China, hosting a great deal of biotech and healthcare-related industry companies. And in the 13th Five-Year Plan, the biopharmaceutical industry has become one of the strategic emerging industries and a key development area for Guangzhou," he added.

The bio-campus is the first biopharmaceutical project that GE, a global top 500 company, has constructed in Asia.

According to Guangzhou Vice-Mayor Chen Zhiying, Guangzhou's Huangpu district and GDD have registered more than 600 pharmaceutical and health companies from home and abroad. These companies reached a total sales revenue of more than 52.3 billion yuan ($7.64 billion) in 2016, accounting for more than 50 percent of sales revenue in the city.

Guangzhou Party chief Ren Xuefeng, Guangdong Vice-Mayor He Zhongyou, Vice-Governor Chen Zhiying were joined by GE Senior Vice-President Rachel Duan and chief executive Jan Makela at the groundbreaking event.