MUNICH/DRESDEN (dpa-AFX) - Things are getting serious with the new factory of the Taiwanese chip manufacturer TSMC in "Silicon Saxony" in Dresden. "The groundbreaking ceremony for this joint venture will take place on August 20," Jochen Hanebeck, CEO of the German semiconductor manufacturer Infineon, which holds a ten percent stake in the plant, told the "Süddeutsche Zeitung". The construction of the new Infineon factory in the north of Saxony's state capital is also progressing well. The machines should arrive from September 2025 and production should start the following year. "So we are right on schedule." Infineon wants to invest five billion euros in this expansion of its production in Dresden - and thus create over 1,000 new jobs.

Hanebeck defended the billion-euro demand for factories by the German government and the EU Commission. "If Europe backs out of these demands, the factories would not be built here, but elsewhere." It is a political decision as to which industry to demand. "Many countries have recognized the strategic importance of the chip industry." Germany and Europe should be at the table when it comes to semiconductors. "We can then have a say if other regions want to exert pressure."

Exactly one year ago, TSMC announced plans to build a semiconductor plant in the city on the Elbe by 2027. It is to be built as a joint venture with Bosch, Infineon and NXP Semiconductor under the name European Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (ESMC) near the airport, where Bosch manufactures microchips - creating 2,000 new jobs. The investment is worth around ten billion euros, half of which is to come from the German government - it will be the Asian semiconductor giant's first plant in Europe./DP/zb