This artist rendition shows an interior view of a hall in a full-scale replica of the Titanic ocean liner built by Seven Star Energy Investment Group.[Photo/IC]

A company in southwestern China has announced plans to build a full-scale replica of the Titanic, the passenger ship that famously sank in 1912. The Seven Star Energy Investment Group, based in Sichuan province, said it would spend 1 billion yuan ($164 million), to build an ocean liner that would be moored on a river bank as a tourist attraction.

The original ill-fated ocean liner has been the subject of immense fascination in China, particularly after the release of James Cameron's 1997 film Titanic, which was the highest-grossing film in China for more than a decade. Seven Star said it planned to have the ship, which will be built at the China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation's Wuchang shipyard, serve as the centerpiece of a theme park in Daying county, in Sichuan province. The company said it intended to complete the park, which was first announced at a trade fair in October, by 2016.