The Hsinchu Science Park (新竹科學園區) administration on Monday said that the Cabinet had approved its latest park expansion project, paving the way for Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) to start construction on a next-generation fab there as early as 2026.
The administration plans to convert 158.59 hectares of mostly farmland in Taoyuan County’s Longtan District (龍潭) into an industrial area, mostly for the semiconductor industry, an outline of the project posted on the administration’s Web site on June 16 said.
The outline was posted with the aim of seeking public opinion.
Photo courtesy of the Hsinchu Science Park administration
The bulk of the newly developed land, the third park expansion project proposed by the administration, would be used by TSMC to build advanced semiconductor manufacturing facilities to make 2-nanometer chips, or smaller and more advanced chips, the administration said.
TSMC has built a pilot production line for 3-nanometer chips and is building a 2-nanometer chip factory using the land acquired by the administration through two expansion projects, it added.
The world’s largest contract chipmaker’s 3-nanometer chips entered mass production at its Tainan fab in the second half of last year.
TSMC chief executive officer C.C. Wei (魏哲家) told shareholders early this month that the company was on track to ramp up volume production of 2-nanometer chips in Taiwan in 2025.
TSMC is also developing next-generation technology to produce 1.4-nanometer chips at home, he said.
The expansion project is expected to create NT$600 billion to NT$650 billion (US$19.34 billion to US$20.95 billion) in production value a year, due to growing demand for chips used in electric vehicles, wearable devices and artificial-intelligence applications, the administration said.
About 5,900 new jobs would be created, it said.
The administration said it plans to hold two public hearings next month to collect the public opinion before submitting a detailed development plan to the Cabinet by the end of this year.
The administration said it needs to address a shortage of industrial land as more than 90 percent of the land managed by Hsinchu Science Park has been used and 99 percent of the land in Longtan has been leased.
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