TSMC reportedly plans five more advanced-packaging plants in Chiayi

TSMC is reportedly considering five additional advanced-packaging plants in Chiayi, Taiwan, which could eventually bring its planned cluster there to ten facilities. The proposal points to a long-term expansion of capacity for CoWoS, a key packaging technology used in AI accelerators, but it is still at an early planning stage, not a near-term fix for supply constraints.

TSMC Watch analysis

What happened

BigGo Finance reports that Taiwan’s science-park administration has begun soliciting public comments on a second expansion of the Chiayi Science Park. The proposed site covers about 198.65 hectares of state-owned farmland. The process still requires feasibility work, government review, urban planning and environmental assessment before construction could begin.

TSMC’s first two plants at Chiayi are already in production or being equipped, while three more are planned in a second phase, with completion targeted before 2031. The five additional plants described in the report belong to a further phase. The ten-facility total is therefore a possible outcome, not a settled construction schedule.

Why it matters

CoWoS packages multiple chips, including GPUs and high-bandwidth memory, together for use in AI accelerators. Expanding capacity could help address a reported bottleneck in the supply chain for chips designed by companies including Nvidia and AMD. But new facilities take years to plan, build and equip, so this proposal does little to answer the immediate question of how quickly supply can grow.

The report also says TSMC raised its 2026 capital-expenditure guidance in July to US$60–64 billion, from US$52–56 billion. That is broader company spending guidance, not a stated budget for these proposed plants.

Our read

This is a meaningful signal about where TSMC sees long-term pressure: advanced packaging is becoming as strategically important as wafer production in the AI hardware rush. The eye-catching figure is five more plants; the practical caveat is that the third-phase proposal has a lengthy approval road ahead. Treat ten facilities as a plan under consideration, not capacity you can order tomorrow.

What to watch

• Whether the public-comment process leads to formal approval of the proposed expansion.
• When TSMC provides clearer construction and capacity plans for the additional plants.
• How much output and efficiency gains from earlier Chiayi phases can add before the proposed expansion is built.

Discussion spark: With CoWoS capacity reportedly tight, should TSMC prioritise rapid upgrades to existing plants or commit early to a much larger, slower expansion?

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