TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) said on Monday (Nov. 21) that construction for a 28nm fab in Kaohsiung is proceeding as planned.

Reports last week said TSMC had awarded the construction contract for the 28nm facility to Futsu Construction Co., Ltd, according to CNA. The Taiwanese chipmaker did not respond directly to the reports, but did note that construction was officially underway.

The world’s largest contract chipmaker had initially planned on building 7nm and 28nm production lines at the Nanzih Technology Industrial Park in Kaohsiung. But then around the beginning of this month, CEO C.C. Wei (魏哲家) said that the 7nm line would be delayed due to reduced demand for 7nm process chips.

Over an October earnings call, Wei noted that falling demand for smartphones and computers, in addition to delayed product launches, would lead to underutilized 7nm capacity in the fourth quarter extending into the first half of 2023, per CNA.

Meanwhile, the 28nm fab in Kaohsiung is expected to be ready for commercial production in 2024 as previously planned.
 

• Link: By Eric Chang, Taiwan News