WUHAN, Jan. 24 (Xinhua) -- Construction has begun on two container ships, which are expected to become the largest in service in the upper and middle reaches of the Yangtze River.

The pair are the first of six such ships which, upon completion, will be operated by the Wuhan New Port Administration Committee, based in central China's Hubei Province.

Construction of the ships, funded by the China COSCO Shipping Corporation, begun in Yangzhou, east China's Jiangsu Province, on Monday.

With a total investment of 300 million yuan (47 million U.S. dollars), the 147-meter-long, 26-meter-wide vessels are designed to each carry a maximum of 1,140 standard containers.

All six vessels are expected to be put into operation by June 2019.

The shipment capacity of each new ship doubles that of existing vessels, while their daily fuel consumption will be 20 percent less.