Start of TSMC's 2nd fab construction in Kumamoto postponed

Taipei, June 3 (CNA) The start of construction on the second wafer fab of contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) in Kumamoto, Japan, has been delayed due to traffic problems, TSMC Chairman C. C. Wei (魏哲家) said Tuesday.

Wei's comments confirmed recent reports that the second fab project has been postponed from the originally scheduled first quarter, when the chipmaker was to break ground on the plant.

Speaking with reporters on the sideline of TSMC's annual general meeting, Wei said the presence of TSMC's first facility has boosted traffic volume in Kumamoto, leading to complaints from local residents.

"Many residents there have become impatient about the heavy traffic volume," Wei said. "TSMC is communicating with the Japanese government to improve the traffic conditions before the start of construction."

Wei said the fab 2 project will be delayed "a little bit," but he did not disclose when construction is expected to start under the new schedule.

TSMC is also communicating with its clients, which are keen to see the capacity of the second fab come online, about the construction postponement, Wei said

TSMC's first fab in Kumamoto started mass production in late 2024, using the mature 12 nanometer, 16nm and 28nm processes.

The second fab, which was originally scheduled to begin operations at the end of 2027, will use advanced 6nm and 7nm processes and the mature 40nm technology.

The Kumamoto project is just one part of TSMC's global expansion.

In the U.S. state of Arizona, TSMC is investing US$65 billion to build three wafer fabs with the first one starting production in the fourth quarter of 2024. Construction of the second fab was recently completed, while the company has broken ground on the third.

In March, TSMC pledged to invest an additional US$100 billion over the next few years to build three more fabs, two IC assembly facilities and one research and development center in Arizona.

TSMC has also broken ground on a fab in Dresden, Germany, with production scheduled to start in 2027.

At the shareholder meeting, Wei dismissed market speculation that TSMC would invest in the Middle East, saying the company's expansion is based on client demand and it has no clients in the Middle East.