China-based smartphone vendor Oppo is expected to begin construction of a new R&D center in Dongguan, China at the end of 2017 with a capital input of CNY2 billion (US$289.29 million), according to a Chinese-language Southern (Nanfang) Daily report.

Oppo's new R&D center, to be located in Changan Town, Dongguan, will also include a testing center, software development center and a mobile network R&D center, said the report.

The first-phase construction of the R&D center is expected to complete and come online in 2019, the report added.

Meanwhile, smartphone vendor Vivo also plans to build a new production base in Changan with annual production capacity of 90 million handsets. Construction of the new production hub will begin in 2017 and is slated for commercial production in 2019, said the report.

Vivo will invest CNY2 billion to build the new plant, added the report.