Samsung Electronics Co. said Tuesday its chip factory under construction in southern Seoul is expected to start production in the first half of this year as scheduled.

The 15.6 trillion-won ($14.4 billion) project began in 2015 to build the chip line in Pyeongtaek, some 70 kilometers south of Seoul. It marks Samsung's largest-ever investment in a single production line. Some 90 percent of the construction is now completed, the firm said.

The new line is expected to focus on the production of 3-D Vertical NAND flash memory, which will boast significantly higher data storage compared with the previous 2-D technology.

Experts said the 3-D V-NAND flash memory will come with a higher speed and energy efficiency. The chips are widely used in digital cameras, smartphones, handsets and USB drives, as well as other portable devices and solid state drives.

Samsung has a site that's 2.89 million square meters in Pyeongtaek, with the construction under progress taking place on 759,000 square meters of it during the first phase.

"The first phase of the construction will be completed in the first half," said an official from Samsung Electronics. "After the facilities kick off normal operations, we plan to review developing the remaining part of the land depending on the size of the chip industry." (Yonhap)