TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) Chair C.C. Wei (魏哲家) on Friday (Nov. 15) welcomed the decision by the Biden administration to release a subsidy of NT$214.34 billion (US$6.6 billion) for its new plant in Arizona.

The US Department of Commerce said it was moving ahead with the deal to assist the world’s largest contract maker of semiconductors with direct funding under the CHIPS and Science Act, per CNA. The Taiwanese company invested more than US$65 billion in the project to build three fabs near Phoenix.

The Biden administration decision will help TSMC speed up its development of the most advanced semiconductor manufacturing technology in the US, Wei said. The subsidy deal was based on a preliminary agreement reached in April which earned praise from President Joe Biden.

Both the US president and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo have described TSMC’s Arizona plant as a major step toward bringing back advanced chip production from overseas to restore US leadership in the sector.

The first of the three fabs is expected to start turning out semiconductors early next year, with the creation of thousands of jobs in the years ahead.