Lithuania trying to keep IC project with Taiwan on track despite issues

Vilnius, Lithuania, Nov. 19 (CNA) The Lithuanian government on Monday pledged to solve problems related to a halt in construction of a high-tech industrial park to ensure that a joint semiconductor project with Taiwan continues.

The project is to be located in the Teltonika High-Tech Hill Park, but main Teltonika shareholder Arvydas Paukštys said in a Linkedin post on Nov. 15 that construction was being halted due to a shortage of electricity and unresolved issues on rezoning the land for industrial use.

In a meeting between the government and Paukštys on Monday, Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte instructed government agencies to work with Teltonika and provide assistance to enable the park project to proceed.

After the meeting, Paukštys said the project, originally expected to be completed in 2028, would be delayed by two to three years and was now slated for completion by 2032 at the latest if no other problems emerged.

Echoing Paukštys, Lithuania's Economy and Innovation Minister Aušrinė Armonaitė said following the meeting that the government needed to work with 18 agencies, including the military, to resolve the land rezoning issue.

Armonaitė said the government had settled technical issues related to the project and was in the process of planning and preparing the necessary paperwork for the project to proceed.

In his earlier Linkedin post, Paukštys said Teltonika could not even start designing the buildings for the 55-hectare industrial park -- expected to house 10 major facilities -- because of a lack of clarity on the park's technical conditions.

Taiwan's government-sponsored Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) signed a 14-million-euro (US$14.77 million) agreement with Teltonika in January 2023 to build semiconductor capacity in the Lithuania park.

Teltonika, designated by the Lithuanian government as a member of the "national chip team," is a major supplier of Internet of Things equipment in the country.

Under the ITRI's deal with the company, Taiwan agreed to provide technology to help the Baltic state build production capacity of eight-inch wafers.

Paukštys was cited last week by Lithuanian National Radio and Television as accusing the Lithuanian government of having blocked 3.5 billion euros in business investments.

In his Linkedin post, the Lithuanian businessman said halting the investment would stop the creation of 6,000 new jobs and cost the country several billions of euros in gross domestic product (GDP).

After news of the halt in construction of the industrial park surfaced, Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Saturday that cooperation in semiconductor development with Lithuania would not be affected.