FUJI Heavy Industries Ltd, the maker of Subaru-brand vehicles, and China International Marine Containers Ltd will build a garbage-truck factory in China.

The 2.1 billion yen (US$17 million) plant, in the northeastern city of Qingdao, will be 51 percent owned by China International, 29 percent by Fuji Heavy and 18 percent by Sumitomo Corp, the Japanese companies said in a joint release yesterday. The joint venture, Qingdao CIMC Eco-Equipment Co, will start operations by the end of the year, Bloomberg News reported.

China's urban population is growing as farmers move to cities in search of work, boosting the demand for garbage trucks and other sanitation equipment. Fuji Heavy aims to more than double its garbage truck sales in China to 10,000 in 2011 from an expected 4,000 in the year ending March 31, said spokesman Kenta Matsumoto.