By Wen-Yee Lee
TAIPEI, Sept 21 (Reuters) - Taiwan broke ground on a new advanced packaging industrial park in the southern city of Kaohsiung on Monday, where TSMC plans to establish facilities for technology validation and talent training.
TSMC, the world's largest contract chipmaker, will build two buildings at the Baipu Industrial Park, including a technology validation laboratory and a talent training centre, Kaohsiung Deputy Mayor Lo Ta-sheng said at the groundbreaking ceremony. The facilities
are expected to begin operations in the fourth quarter of 2029.
"With the rapid development of AI and high-performance computing, advanced packaging has become a critical part of global semiconductor competition," Taiwan President Lai Ching-te said at the ceremony.
Lai said the park would allow key equipment and materials suppliers to conduct research, testing and validation at the site, shortening the time needed to bring new technologies into mass production and helping local companies enter the advanced chipmaking supply chain.
The Baipu Industrial Park will serve as a testing and validation hub for equipment and materials used in TSMC's advanced packaging, an increasingly important technology for producing powerful artificial intelligence chips.
TSMC's advanced packaging technology is used to produce advanced AI chips designed by Nvidia, Advanced Micro Devices and Broadcom.
TSMC is expected to occupy the park with two buildings, while the Kaohsiung city government will build factory facilities.
The Baipu park will cover about 88.7 hectares (219.2 acres), of which about 53.6 hectares will be designated for industrial use.
The park is part of Taiwan's broader push to build a more complete semiconductor ecosystem in the south, complementing TSMC's advanced chipmaking operations at the nearby Nanzih Technology Industrial Park.
Taiwan is home to the world's largest semiconductor manufacturing industry and a broad network of chip equipment, materials, testing and packaging suppliers. The government has been seeking to expand that ecosystem in southern Taiwan, where TSMC and other technology companies, including ASE Technology Holding and Foxconn, are increasing investment.
On power supply, Lai said the government had assessed Taiwan's electricity needs through 2035 and that there would be no problem maintaining a stable supply, adding that it aimed to keep companies in Taiwan and enable the economy to continue developing.
(Reporting by Wen-Yee Lee; Editing by Christian Schmollinger)
