SK hynix to build a new M15X Fab chip plant in Cheongju

SK hynix is set to start the construction of its newest chip production plant in Cheongju, Chungcheongbuk-do. The company is building the M15X extension in the said region to prepare for its future growth, and this was announced on Tuesday, Sept. 6.

SK hynix will break ground in October, and the facility will rise on a 60,000 square meter land inside the Cheongju Technopolis Industrial Complex. The South Korean chip maker is expecting its M15X Fab to be completed within the first quarter of 2025.

The company is injecting about KRW15 trillion or around $10.9 billion into this project which will be distributed in the next five years. The investment will not only fund the construction but the setting up of the facilities as well. The fab is a two-story building that will be as big as the combined size of SK hynix’s M11 and M12 manufacturing facilities.

As per Yonhap News Agency, SK hynix is speeding up the construction in consideration of "various market situations." The M15X will be the chipmaker’s first new fab since it marked its 10th anniversary this year.

While the construction will not begin until October, the company is already planning the construction of its next chip production factory which will be named the M17. SK hynix will make decisions for this after assessing the overall business environment, especially the changes in the semiconductor business cycle.

“Looking back on the past 10 years, SK hynix could grow into a global company as it boldly carried out investment during a crisis,” the company’s vice chairman and co-chief executive officer, Park Jung Ho said in a press release. “As we look to prepare for the next 10 years now, I believe starting the M15X will be a first step to lay the foundation for a solid future growth.”

In any case, the company said in a statement that the demand for memory chips is falling at a fast rate due to the global economic slowdown as well as the current instability of the supply chain. However, industry experts predicted that the chip business would recover and it will only get better starting from 2024 and achieve a rebound in 2025.

Meanwhile, Korea Joongang Daily noted that the M15X extension will be SK hynix’s fourth manufacturing facility in Cheongju but will be the biggest plant so far. The company also has chip factories in Gyeonggi and Icheon where its dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) chips are being made.