The National Development Council (NDC) yesterday approved a plan to expand Taoyuan’s Longtan Science Park (龍潭科學園區) by 104 hectares, a project expected to create about 4,500 jobs.
The NDC, the policy planning arm of the Executive Yuan, approved the plan submitted by the National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) at a review meeting.
The plan next goes to the Executive Yuan for final approval.
Photo: CNA
The expansion is intended to enhance the semiconductor industry cluster in the Taoyuan-Hsinchu-Miaoli area and further consolidate Taiwan’s competitive advantage in the high-tech sector, the NDC said in a statement.
The NT$95.63 billion (US$2.99 billion) expansion project would be funded through annual budget allocations from the Science Park Bureau’s Operation Fund, it said.
Under the plan, reviews of development permits for nonurban land and an environmental impact assessment are to be completed by the end of 2028.
Following land acquisition, the design and construction of park infrastructure would begin in 2030, with companies allowed to build their facilities concurrently, the NDC said.
The NSTC and Taoyuan City Government selected the 104-hectare site on the eastern side of Longtan Science Park in response to the growing demands of semiconductor firms, it said.
Once the expansion is completed, companies at the site are expected to produce NT$550 billion of goods and services per year and create about 4,500 well-paying jobs, it said.
Longtan Science Park is one of six satellite parks overseen by the Hsinchu Science Park (新竹科學園區).
The Longtan site currently covers 106.94 hectares and employs about 7,000 people, mainly in the integrated circuit, optoelectronics and biotechnology sectors, the Hsinchu Science Park’s Web site says.
In May, local media reported that Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電) was seeking government approval to build an advanced wafer fab at Longtan Science Park following the expansion.
EQUAL SHARE: A row over Micron’s payouts coincides with a global debate about who deserves a cut of the sudden wealth generated by the artificial intelligence boom Micron Technology Inc is to provide its engineers in Taiwan a cash bonus of NT$1 million (US$31,600) plus equity rewards, as the company’s local unions are demanding an additional payout to reflect their contribution to the chipmaker’s blowout profits. The Idaho-based chipmaker said in a statement yesterday that its entry-level, Taiwan-based engineers’ average compensation would reach NT$3.4 million for the past fiscal year after the cash and equities awards. All employees in Taiwan would receive equities as part of the annual merit grants, the company added. Before the announcement, Micron’s unions asked for a one-time cash payout equal to about seven years
UNION DETERMINATION: Rejecting an offer for a one-time payout as an attempt to influence opinion, the union said a strike at the memory chip manufacturer is possible The Micron Taiwan workers’ union yesterday rejected a one-time payout unveiled by US-based Micron Technology Inc last week, saying it wants a long-term mechanism under which employees would share 15 percent of the company’s operating profits. While the union and the company are still in talks over the dispute, the reward package was proposed unilaterally by the employer without reaching an agreement with the union, union head Jerry Lin (林哲瑞) told reporters. Lin said he suspected the company was seeking to influence public opinion with the move. On Friday last week, Micron announced a reward package under which employees in Taiwan would receive
SOME CUSHION: Taiwan’s GDP is forecast to grow more than 11 percent this year, so the economy should be able to absorb the impact of a rate hike, an expert said With domestic inflation topping the 2 percent alert level for a fourth consecutive month last month and several major central banks around the world raising their key interest rates, Taiwan’s central bank is facing growing pressure to raise rates at its quarterly policymaking meeting on Thursday, economists said. At its June meeting, the central bank left interest rates unchanged for the ninth consecutive quarter, with the discount rate at 2 percent. Central Bank Governor Yang Chin-long (楊金龍) had said that the bank maintained a somewhat hawkish stance, with two board directors voicing support for a rate hike at the meeting. Cathay United
BUILDER’s RITES: The topping out ceremony is held when a project being built has its highest point laid out, a sure sign that TSMC’s European project is making solid progress A “topping out” ceremony was held on Monday at a plant under construction in Germany by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), indicating that the fab is progressing as planned and within budget, the head of a joint-venture company in charge of the project said. A topping out ceremony is the construction milestone of laying the final beam or structural piece at the highest point of a building, and it honors the construction crew, architects and engineers. European Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (ESMC) president Christian Koitzsch said that about 2,000 workers from 106 countries are working around the clock at the site in
RSS