CHENGDU, July 16 (Xinhua) -- Southwest China's Sichuan Province and California jointly launched a smart town project on Tuesday to accommodate enterprises on new energy, the new generation of IT, as well as high-end equipment manufacturing.

The Meishan-California Smart Town, in Tianfu New Area District of Meishan, will have an area of nearly 220 hectares, with a total investment of about 26 billion yuan (about 3.78 billion U.S. dollars).

The town will focus on the research and development of industries including new energy, information technology and high-end equipment manufacturing.

It is expected to take about six years to complete the construction of the project. By then, more than 200 enterprises will be introduced and settled in the town, among which no less than 50 will be U.S.-funded enterprises.