NANNING, May 29  -- More than 6.2 billion yuan (about 1 billion U.S. dollars) has been pumped into the construction of an industrial park jointly built by China and Malaysia as part of an ambitious plan to rejuvenate the ancient maritime Silk Road.

The China-Malaysia Qinzhou Industrial Park in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region has invested over 1.2 billion yuan on roads, sewage disposal plants, water and power supply as well as housing projects for workers since construction started in April 2012.

Another 5 billion yuan was added this year to the 55-square-km park, the first such project between China and Malaysia.

Considered a new platform for China-ASEAN cooperation, the park will be dedicated to developing modern logistics, finance, insurance, trade and exhibitions as well as serving as a regional headquarters for transnational companies.

Six industries, including equipment manufacturing, information technologies, food processing, new materials, biotechnologies and modern services, will become pillar industries for the park, said Fan Li, deputy chief of the park's managing committee.

The park is expected to be operational in the last quarter of this year, Fan added.

Since ancient times, Southeast Asia has been an important hub along the historical maritime Silk Road, a commercial route on which China sold silk, ceramics and tea to overseas markets.

Chinese President Xi Jinping proposed a 21st century maritime Silk Road during his visit to Indonesia last October.

The park is regarded as an innovative experiment by China and Malaysia in rebuilding the maritime Silk Road.

In Kuantan, a port city in Malaysia, China and Malaysia are also working on an industrial park as a sister park to the one in China.

Construction of an iron and steel project, the first in the Malaysian park led by China's Guangxi Beibu Gulf International Port Group, will kick off next month with a total investment of 8 billion yuan.