TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — An expansion plan for Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company's (TSMC) facilities in the Hsinchu Science Park reportedly includes the building of 1.4nm chip fabs in 2026, with mass production to begin between 2027 and 2028.
The Cabinet in early June approved a pilot plan by TSMC to expand an area of the Longtan Science Park in Taoyuan City's Longtan District to be used for the production of new generations of chips. The Hsinchu Science Park Bureau stated that the expanded area in Longtan will encompass 158.59 hectares of land in Longtan that are to be used for R&D and mass production of chips that are 2nm and smaller.
It is estimated that after the development is completed, the new facilities will generate an annual output value of about NT$600 to NT$650 billion (US$19.3 billion to US$20.9 billion) and provide about 5,900 job opportunities, reported Liberty Times. Wayne Wang (王永壯), director-general of the Hsinchu Science Park Bureau, said that two public hearings will be held in July to gather opinions on the expansion plan in Longtan and the formal planning and design will begin at the end of the year.
Longtan Science Park. (Hsinchu Science Park website photo)
The environmental impact assessment and urban planning will be completed and the land for building the factories is estimated to be available in 2026. TSMC's CEO C.C. Wei (魏哲家) said at the company's shareholder meeting on June 6 that TSMC's advanced manufacturing process is rooted in Taiwan and now that mass production of 3nm chips in the Southern Taiwan Science Park is underway, the firm will continue to strive to expand its production capacity.
Wei said that the 2nm plant is under construction and the mass production of chips is expected to begin in 2025. He also revealed for the first time that the 1.4nm process will also be mass-produced in Taiwan.
Given the scale of the expansion plans for Longtan, which is designated for the manufacture of chips that are 2nm and smaller, industry analysts predict that the new area will include 1.4nm chip fabs, which are expected to be built in 2026 and mass-production to start at some point between 2027 and 2028.
