WUHAN -- US diesel giant Cummins Inc said it has completed expansion of a technical center in central China, making it the firm's largest engine development and research facility outside Columbus, Indiana.

Cummins Chairman and Chief Executive Tim Solso said the expansion aims to help Cummins, the largest foreign investor in the Chinese diesel engine industry, better tailor its products to the world's biggest automobile market.

The Cummins East Asia Technical Center, based in Wuhan, Hubei province, cost $61 million, with the expansion project worth $33 million, the company said.

It will boost development of engines sized from 2.8 liters to 19 liters, or almost the full range of Cummins products built in China, it said.

A series of emission-testing facilities will be put into use next year, in a move to help Chinese-made engines break into markets in Europe, Russia, Republic of Korea, Australia and Brazil.

The center will also develop clean energy technology, including electric motors and automobile cells. It employs more than 100 technicians and plans to increase the number to 1,400 in the next two years.

Launched in 2006, the center is a 55-45 joint venture between Cummins and Dongfeng Cummins Engine Co (DCEC), which itself is the Indiana-headquartered firm's venture with China's leading automaker Dongfeng Motor.

Cummins has invested a total 1.53 billion yuan ($240 million) in DCEC since the joint venture was formed in 1996. DCEC currently has a annual capacity of 230,000 engines.

China is Cummins' largest and fastest-growing market overseas, with its sales in the country at $3.1 billion last year.