A design image is pictured on a board during the ground-breaking ceremony of Guangzhou Evergrande's new stadium in Guangzhou in China's southern Guangdong province on April 16, 2020. (STR / AFP)

Evergrande Group has begun work on what will be the world’s largest purpose-built soccer stadium, with a capacity of 100,000 seats, in the southern city of Guangzhou, the Chinese real estate company has said.

It will be home to Chinese Super League side Guangzhou Evergrande and surpass Barcelona’s Camp Nou as the largest purpose-built soccer venue by capacity

Construction of the Guangzhou Evergrande Soccer Stadium, also dubbed “Lotus Flower Stadium” for its design, started on April 16 and would cost around 12 billion yuan (US$1.69 billion) to complete, the group said.

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It will be home to Chinese Super League side Guangzhou Evergrande and surpass Barcelona’s Camp Nou as the largest purpose-built soccer venue by capacity, it added.

The lotus design was chosen as it is a traditional Chinese flower, the group said, adding that it was conceptualized by Shanghai-based designer Hasan A. Syed.

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The stadium would also include entertainment, commercial and dining areas and is likely to be completed by the end of 2022.

The company said it was building the venue as it hoped the facility would help boost Chinese soccer.

A design image (C) is seen on a board during the ground-breaking ceremony of Guangzhou Evergrande's new stadium in Guangzhou in China's southern Guangdong province on April 16, 2020. (STR / AFP)

Fans of Guangzhou Evergrande cheer for the team after defeating Shanghai Shenhua to win the Chinese Super League (CSL) football championship in Guangzhou in China's southern Guangdong province on Dec 1, 2019. (STR / AFP)