Tainan Science Park to add `panel zone'

The Tainan Science Park (台南科學園區), where the world's two top made-to-order chip suppliers have production bases, will invest NT$25 billion (US$776 million) this year to build a flat-panel zone, a senior government official said.

``The Tainan Science Park will almost quadruple its revenue in five years'' by adding the special flat-panel zone, Tainan County Commissioner Su Huan-chih (蘇煥智), said in an interview after briefing journalists on the county's investment plan.

The park, where Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電) and United Microelectronics Corp (聯電) have 12-inch wafer plants, will reach annual production worth NT$1 trillion (US$31 billion) within five years, from NT$270 billion last year, Su said.

Construction of the special flat-panel zone will begin in March with an infrastructure budget of NT$25 billion for this year, excluding the investment of individual plant construction by 45 manufacturers, led by Chi Mei Optoelectronics Corp (奇美電子), Su said. Chi Mei is Taiwan's second-largest maker of flat-panel displays used in televisions and computers.

Construction of the special zone will be completed within two years, he said.

Tainan plans to spend NT$19.5 billion for a proposed Taiwan World Exhibition to be held in 2008, focusing on the "green technology" of balancing industrial development and environmental protection, Su said. Further details on the exhibition will be decided after the legislature approves the plan, he said.