Contract chip maker hopes to build two new state-of-the-art chip factories in 2007 The world’s largest contract chip maker will grow even bigger next year if the Taiwan government is able to set aside enough land for it to build two new state-of-the-art 12-inch chip factories.Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) hopes to break ground on the factories in April at an industrial park near the northern city of Hsinchu next year, but the company faces competition for land inside the park from other chip makers.Powerchip Semiconductor and Vanguard International Semiconductor have also applied for land to build chip plants on inside the Hsinchu park. Industrial parks in Taiwan are the best locations for factories because they offer incentives such as low-rental fees as well as infrastructure including ample power and water. “We would like to build the plants, but we can only move forward if the land is made available,” said J.H. Tzeng, a spokesman for TSMC.He said the size of the project will ultimately be determined by demand for chips next year.TSMC also approved a budget of $1.1 billion to expand production using 90nm and 65nm technologies. The company believes there will be demand for more production lines using the two technologies, but it will only build when actual customer demand arises, said Tzeng. The budget is an appropriation with no time limit, not a capital spending budget, he added. The microscopic production technologies are important to enable companies to make chips faster, more energy efficient and smaller so they take up less room inside devices. The 90nm and 65nm manufacturing technologies are described by the approximate size of features that they can build on a chip. A nanometer is one-billionth of a meter. Technology Industry