Northeast Pharmaceuticals Group Co Ltd (NEPG), based in Shenyang, capital of Liaoning province, completed its first sub-project involving an active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) production base relocation, Liaoning Daily reported on Monday.

The group invested 5 billion yuan ($821 million) in relocation and improving its production facilities in the Xihe Economic Zone, west of the city.

The completion of the project is a breakthrough in NEPG's industrial upgrade. By 2015, the group's 16 key API products will be put into production.

NEPG is China's first vitamin C producer and a large-scale comprehensive pharmaceutical enterprise. Its main products include vitamin C and antibiotics.