Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) CEO CC Wei revealed a second chip production facility in Japan would be located at the same site as its first in southwest Japan, Taipei Times reported.

Wei make the announcement during a visit by Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida to its manufacturing plant under construction in the town of Kikuyo, Kumamoto prefecture, the newspaper stated.

In early February, Japan Advanced Semiconductor Manufacturing (JASM), a venture between TSMC, a Sony Semiconductor subsidiary and Denso Corp, stated Toyota would join as a new investor in the second project. Japan’s government earmarked JPY732 billion ($4.9 billion) in subsidies to the venture. 

Construction is scheduled to begin by end-2024, with operations to start in 2027.

The Japanese government allocated JPY476 billion in support for the first factory, with mass production expected to commence in Q4. Wei noted as much as 60 per cent of indirect materials used in production would be sourced locally by end-2030, Taipei Times wrote.

Total monthly capacity for both facilities will reach more than 100,000 12-inch wafers, using process technology ranging from 40nm to 6nm, TSMC said.

Bloomberg reported last month TSMC was in talks with the US Department of Commerce about receiving additional funding of $5 billion to build another chip production facility there.