LH to fast-track Zone 1 tender for Yongin semiconductor complex

Korea Land and Housing Corporation said Thursday it will issue a priority tender for Zone 1 of the Yongin National Semiconductor Industrial Complex development project.

The Yongin Advanced System Semiconductor National Industrial Complex is planned for a roughly 7.78 million-square-meter site in Cheoin-gu, Yongin, Gyeonggi Province. It will bring together all facilities needed for advanced system semiconductor production, including six semiconductor fabrication plants, materials, components and equipment companies, three power generation facilities and industrial gas supply infrastructure.

Korea Land and Housing Corporation has designated early completion of the Yongin national industrial complex as a core task to strengthen the country's semiconductor industry competitiveness, and is accelerating the project to meet its target of breaking ground on the first semiconductor fab by 2028.

Land, Infrastructure and Transport Minister Kim Yun-deok recently announced plans to move up the completion date of the complex — where six Samsung Electronics semiconductor fabs are to be built — by seven years, from 2047 to 2040.

To bring forward the start of operations at the first semiconductor fab, the corporation will issue a priority tender Thursday for Zone 1, which includes the relevant site. Zone 1 covers approximately 3.45 million square meters, with construction costs of about 1.09 trillion won ($729 million).

The project will use a construction management at-risk model combined with a fast-track approach, incorporating the construction manager's expertise from the design stage and running design work and related administrative procedures in parallel.

Starting with Thursday's announcement, the corporation plans to accept bids in September, select a project manager in November and begin site development work by the end of this year.

Earlier, LH President Lee Seong-hun visited the Yongin national semiconductor complex site shortly after taking office on Thursday, July 9, and called for a dramatic acceleration of the schedule, saying he would "personally monitor the progress and status of the Yongin national complex every week."