TSMC A14 fab construction approved, set to start soon: Science park

Taipei, Oct. 29 (CNA) Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) has secured three construction permits for its plan to build a state-of-the-art A14 wafer fab in Taichung, central Taiwan, and is likely to start construction soon, the Central Taiwan Science Park Bureau said Wednesday.

Speaking with CNA, Wang Chun-chieh (王俊傑), deputy director general of the science park bureau, said the world's largest contract chipmaker has received three construction permits -- one to build a fab to roll out sophisticated chips, another to build a central utility plant (CUP) to provide water and electricity for the facility and the other to build three office buildings.

With the three permits, TSMC will be able to begin the construction of its high-speed wafer fab soon, citing a recent briefing to the park authorities by the chipmaker as noting the facility will use the advanced A14 process, Wang said.

Wang's comments came after the National Science and Technology Council (NSTS) confirmed on Oct. 18 that TSMC had applied for permission from the science authorities to build the A14 fab.

According to information on the TSMC website, the A14 technology is designed to drive artificial intelligence transformation by delivering faster computing and greater power efficiency.

The A14 technology, or 1.4-nanometer process, will be 15 percent faster than the 2nm process at the same power, TSMC said. With a 30 percent power reduction, the 1.4nm chip will have the same speed as the 2nm, which is scheduled to start commercial production later this year, the company said.

The 3nm process is the latest technology for which TSMC has started mass production. According to the chipmaker, its advanced processes, including 3nm, 5nm and 7nm, are in high demand during the current artificial intelligence development boom and the company has intensified efforts to upgrade its technologies to meet growing demand.

The science park has completed preparatory work for the A14 fab site with TSMC conducting join inspections and said the chipmaker is likely to kick off construction work soon.

Taichung City Government has said TSMC's new fab is expected to create NT$485.7 billion (US$15.85 billion) per year in production value and about 4,500 job openings.

According to the U.S.-based tech website Wccftech, TSMC is aiming to begin construction of the A14 fab at the end of the year and start mass production in the second half of 2028. A recruitment campaign has begun for the new facility, Wccftech said.

To a market estimate, TSMC will spend US$49 billion to build the plant.