The Kaohsiung City Government yesterday approved Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co’s (TSMC, 台積電) plan to build a new plant in the city, saying a second environmental review was not necessary.
The plant is to focus on making 7-nanometer and 28-nanometer chips, in line with rising demand from global customers.
The city government discussed for two hours environmental influences that would arise from TSMC’s plant and concluded that the world’s largest contract chipmaker met all requirements, rendering a second assessment unnecessary.
Photo: Ko Yu-hao, Taipei Times
TSMC is Apple Inc’s sole chip supplier. Its other major customers include Nvidia Corp, Intel Corp, Advanced Micro Devices Inc, Qualcomm Inc and MediaTek Inc (聯發科).
The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated a global digital transformation as lockdowns in different parts of the world has led to a surge in demand for personal computers and other devices that connect to the Internet, the Hsinchu-based chipmaker has said.
Chip demand also picked up due to widespread use of online payment tools and the increasing popularity of electric vehicles, it said.
The planned TSMC facility has boosted housing prices in Kaohsiung by double-digit percentage points since its announcement in September last year.
TSMC has come up with plans to address the unfavorable side-effects of its manufacturing activity and has pledged to use solar energy sources, Kaohsiung officials said.
The new complex would cover 9.2 hectares of land and would cover a total of 12 hectares after factoring in greenery, the company said.
TSMC’s investment marks a concrete leap in the city government’s efforts to build a semiconductor corridor, it added.
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