The Ministry of Environment yesterday approved the initial environmental impact assessment (EIA) for the proposed Phase 2 development plan for the Southern Taiwan Science Park’s (南部科學園區) Chiayi County campus, with construction expected to begin in the second of half this year and completed by 2031.
The Phase 2 plan is expected to meet the expansion needs of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), which is growing its advanced packaging production facilities to meet expanding demand driven by demand for artificial intelligence (AI) products. As land use at the Chiayi campus is already at capacity, the Phase 2 plan seeks to add approximately 89 hectares of land and introduce three more factories.
At the EIA review meeting, committee members discussed concerns including water use, air pollution, ecological impact, transportation, economic output and health risk assessments. The environmental subcommittee approved the initial review and forwarded the plan to the full committee for further assessment.
Photo: CNA
Building out a southern technology corridor and expanding advanced processes such as chip-on-wafer-on-substrate and system-on-integrated-chips packaging technologies — key bottlenecks in AI chip production — would be essential to implement the government’s plan of turning Taiwan into an “AI island,” Southern Taiwan Science Park Bureau Director-General Cheng Hsiu-jung (鄭秀絨) said.
“Chip packaging must remain rooted in Taiwan, and this is being facilitated by TSMC’s expansion in Chiayi,” she said.
The Phase 2 site is located in the county’s Taibao City (太保), mainly on land owned by Taiwan Sugar Corp, Cheng said.
In addition to semiconductor packaging, the plan envisions attracting firms in high-speed broadband, AI, cybersecurity technologies, heterogeneous integration packaging, net zero industries and quantum technologies, she added.
Once Phase 2 is completed, its output is expected to add about NT$210 billion (US$6.64 billion) to the park’s economic value on top of the about NT$100 billion from the first phase, bringing total output at the campus to about NT$310 billion and creating an estimated 3,500 new jobs, Cheng said.
With both phases combined, total employment at the Chiayi campus could exceed 9,200 people, she said.
Chiayi County Deputy Commissioner Liu Pei-tung (劉培東) said the campus is just one of numerous development projects in the county, citing as an example a Gloria Outlets branch, which began construction on Thursday last week.
The Phase 2 development plan would be complemented by the Chiayi High Speed Rail Station redevelopment plan, which is to cover about 360 hectares of land rezoned for commercial, retail and industrial development, he said.
“Looking ahead, the county plans to fully review transport impacts, bicycle path planning and strategies to reduce air pollution in coordination with the science park’s development,” Liu said.
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