TSMC today held a groundbreaking ceremony for its Fab 18, Phase 1 facility at the Southern Taiwan Science Park. The plant will be TSMC's fourth 12-inch gigafab in Taiwan and is scheduled for production of the foundry's advanced 5nm process.

Following groundbreaking , TSMC plans to complete construction of Phase 1 and begin equipment move-in in the first quarter of 2019, with volume production in early 2020. Phase 2 will start construction in third quarter 2018 and also enter volume production in 2020, while Phase 3 construction is scheduled for third quarter 2019 for volume production in 2021. Once all three phases enter production, the facility's estimated annual capacity will exceed one million 12-inch wafers, providing 4,000 jobs.

"TSMC's Fab 18 represents three important commitments from our company: our commitment to future growth, our commitment to continue moving technology forward, and our commitment to Taiwan," said Chairman Dr. Morris Chang. "Our estimated investment in 5-nanometer technology is approximately NT$700 billion, and total investment in Fab 18 will exceed NT$500 billion."

"The latest chip project is set to go into test pilot runs in 2019 and to churn out the world's most leading-edge 5-nanometer chips by 2020 ... We are also confident to roll out 3-nanometer chips some four years from now," Chang added. "Only three companies worldwide could currently afford such heavy investment," he added, referring to TSMC, Intel of the U.S., and Samsung.

TSMC currently employs more than 10,000 people in the Southern Taiwan Science Park, and once Phases 1,2, and 3 enter volume production, more than 14,000 TSMC employees will be living and working in the Tainan area.

The construction of Fab 18 in the Southern Taiwan Science Park is a key part of TSMC's commitment to expanding investment in Taiwan, and the company plans to build its 3-nanometer production facilities there as well in early 2020s, in another $20 billion investment.

Fab 18 Basic Information:

• Lot Size: 42 hectares
• Total Floor Area: 950,000 square meters
• Total Cleanroom Area: Over 160,000 square meters (approx. 25 standard soccer fields)