Samsung to expand NAND flash production in Pyeongtaek

Samsung Electronics' Pyeongtaek plant in Gyeonggi. [SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS]

Samsung Electronics announced plans Monday to expand NAND flash production capacity in its Pyeongtaek complex in Gyeonggi.

Mass production is scheduled to start during the second half of 2021, the company said. Construction of clean rooms, one of the initial phases of the expansion, began in May.

The new NAND flash production facilities will be located inside Pyeongtaek’s Line 2, one of two production lines in the complex.

Samsung did not disclose the cost of the expansion, but local news outlets have indicated the figure may be around 8 trillion won ($6.5 billion).

The company's decision comes as the global economy has slowed amid the Covid-19 pandemic. Last month, Samsung announced plans to expand foundry capacity using state-of-art extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography.

“The new investment reaffirms our commitment to sustaining undisputed leadership in memory technologies, even in uncertain times,” said Cheol Choi, executive vice president of memory global sales and marketing at Samsung Electronics.

The company said it believes that mid- to long-term demand for NAND flash memory will remain strong, fueled by artificial intelligence, internet-of-things applications and 5G expansion.

Samsung has long been a leading manufacturer in NAND flash memory. According to DRAMeXchange, the chipmaker’s share in the global NAND flash market stood at 33.3 percent during the first quarter of 2020.

The company currently has NAND flash production lines in Hwaseong, Pyeongtaek, both in Gyeonggi, and Xi’an, China.

BY SONG KYOUNG-SON [song.kyoungson@joongang.co.kr]