Contract electronics manufacturer Wistron Corp (緯創) plans to invest NT$10 billion (US$356.95 million) in manufacturing facilities at Kaohsiung’s Cianjhen Technology Industrial Park (前鎮科技園區), the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) said yesterday.
The investment would mainly go toward making automotive and related components, the ministry said in a statement.
It is expected to create 7,000 jobs and generate NT$50 billion in annual output value within five years, the ministry added.
Photo: David Chang, EPA-EFE
To help facilitate new investment in the technology park, a plot of 4.17 hectares that is occupied by outdated factories is being knocked down to clear space for up to 8 hectares of industrial space, the ministry said.
Wistron has obtained 1.04 hectares to create a nine-story factory with two basement levels, the ministry said.
The facility would be a “lighthouse factory,” meaning that advanced technology driven by artificial intelligence (AI) would be deployed, it said.
“The facility will strengthen the automotive industrial cluster in the area,” it added.
This facility is just part of Wistron’s greater push to expand manufacturing in Taiwan.
Last month, the company announced that it was planning to build a new plant at the International AI Smart Park (國際AI智慧園區) in Hsinchu County’s Jhubei City (竹北) to establish production lines for AI, 5G, server and computing products.
The Export Processing Zone Administration (EPZA) said the half-century-old Cianjhen Technology Industrial Park is in dire need an upgrade so that it can meet the needs of today’s manufacturers.
“Those aging buildings no longer serve the needs of today’s businesses,” EPZA Director-General Yang Po-keng (楊伯耕) said. “We are accelerating our plans to transform the space as a private-public partnership to increase and upgrade the space available at the park.”
The administration said it plans to invest NT$12 billion to demolish five outdated factory facilities by 2036.
The renewal plan, which “will pay for itself,” would increase the amount of useable space from 4.436 hectares to 24.457 hectares it said.
“This newly created space will satisfy needs by allowing existing businesses to expand and new businesses to invest,” Yang said.
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