NEC Corp. said Monday it will build a factory for the assembly, evaluation and testing of satellites at its existing plant in Fuchu, western Tokyo.

The new factory will enable the company to assemble as many as eight satellites at a time. The electronics maker will contribute ¥7.6 billion of the required ¥9.6 billion investment, with the remaining costs covered by a government subsidy.

Construction will start in March and the new factory will begin operations in June 2014, the company said.

NEC has produced 66 satellites, including Japan's first, Osumi, launched in 1970, and the Hayabusa space probe, which successfully returned samples from the Itokawa asteroid in 2010.