BEIJING - German chemicals group BASF said on Tuesday it has started production at a giant complex in southern China's Zhanjiang.

The first plant at the site will produce 60,000 tonnes of engineering plastic compounds a year for the automotive and electronics industries, the company said in a statement.

It will be supplied entirely by renewable electricity, it added.

The company expects to invest up to 10 billion euros ($9.95 billion) in the site, which will be its third-largest globally when complete in 2030.

Next year, it plans to start operating a plant for the production of thermoplastic polyurethanes (TPU) at the same complex.

($1 = 1.0048 euros)

(Reporting by Dominique Patton Editing by Bernadette Baum)