TSMC is reported to be starting construction of its second plant in Kumamoto, Japan.
According to the Nihon Keizai Shimbun (Nikkei) on the 24th, JASM, the TSMC subsidiary that operates the Kumamoto plant, signed an agreement with the Kikuyo Town authorities that day regarding the plant site.
The total investment for construction of the second plant, scheduled to begin operations in Dec. 2027, is 2.1 trillion yen (about 19.8 trillion won). The Japanese government plans to provide a total of 1.2 trillion yen (about 11.3 trillion won) to TSMC's Kumamoto plants, including the first plant.
The second plant, located east of the first plant completed in 2024, has a building area of about 69,000㎡, and the number of employees will be the same as the first plant at 1,700. The second plant will mass-produce mainly 6nm (nanometers, one-billionth of a meter) semiconductors, which are more advanced than the products made at the first plant. TSMC plans to make the second plant a production hub for advanced semiconductors used in Autonomous Driving and other applications.
On the 16th, TSMC said at its earnings briefing that it had broken ground on the Kumamoto second plant. At a press conference after the agreement signing ceremony that day, JASM said, "Materials are being brought in for site preparation work, and with the signing of the agreement, full-scale construction will begin."