U.S. chip giant Intel Corp. said on Monday it will build a 2.5-billion-US-dollar semiconductor plant in Dalian, a port city in northeast China's Liaoning Province.

The plant, to be located in a high-tech zone north of Dalian's city proper, will produce 12-inch (300-millimetre) integrated wafer after it becomes operational in the first half of 2010.

Construction of the plant will start before the end of this year, Intel said in a press release.