SK Hynix earmarks $91 bn to construct world's largest chip fab

SK Hynix Inc., the global No. 2 memory chipmaker, is slated to invest more than 120 trillion won ($90.7 billion) by 2046 to build the world’s largest chip production facilities at its Yongin Semiconductor Cluster, Gyeonggi Province in South Korea.

The company said on Thursday it will start construction on the first of the four units in the facilities next March. The first unit will be the world’s biggest three-story fabrication plant, SK Hynix added.

The site for the first unit is about 35% complete, according to the company. Its development had been delayed due to licensing procedures since the plan was first announced in 2019; the project regained traction in 2022 through an agreement between the government, municipalities and companies, SK Hynix said.

Trade Minister Ahn Deokgeun visited the site on Thursday. He pledged the government will support Korea’s chip industry to build the relevant infrastructure, secure unparalleled technologies, expand exports and strengthen a healthy ecosystem for key sectors – materials, components and equipment as well as chip design and sales.   
 
Last month, the trade ministry launched a task force to focus on electricity supply to SK Hynix's semiconductor cluster.

The authorities this month will announce a comprehensive support plan for the country's seven complexes specialized in advanced and strategic industries, including the semiconductor cluster.

By the end of June, the government will unveil its strategies to accelerate artificial intelligence chip exports and strengthen semiconductor equipment.

“All ministries will work together to ensure that Korean companies won’t lag behind global players in semiconductor manufacturing speed. We will actively support high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips to achieve more than $120 billion in semiconductor exports this year,” said the trade minister.

Write to Sul-Gi Lee at surugi@hankyung.com

Jihyun Kim edited this article.