Taipei, Dec. 30 (CNA) A NT$2.57 billion recycling plant capable of supplying 8,000 tonnes of ultra-pure water daily to semiconductor fabs based in the Southern Taiwan Science Park (STSP) began operations in Tainan Friday.
At an inauguration ceremony for the Yongkang Water Treatment Plant, Tainan Mayor Huang Wei-che (黃偉哲) said that the wastewater facility was the first of its kind in Taiwan.
Unlike existing treatment plants, which supply reclaimed water for cooling purposes, Yongkang is the first to provide high-grade water for semiconductor foundries, according to Huang.
Combined with water from the Anping and Rende treatment plants, STSP will soon be supplied with 63,000 tonnes of recycled water daily, Huang said.
Joining Huang at Friday's ceremony were STSP Deputy Director-General Lee Hsin-chang (李信昌), and representatives from Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., United Microelectronics Corp. and Innolux Corp.
Beginning in 2024, the facility will be able to process 29,000 tonnes of wastewater and supply 15,500 tonnes of ultra-pure water to the STSP daily, Tainan City Water Resources Bureau Director-General Han Rong-hwa (韓榮華) said.
In a statement, the Tainan City Government said the NT$2.57 billion Yongkang plant served an aesthetic, environmental, ecological, recreational and educational purpose.
Come 2024, Tainan is expected to benefit from up to 83,000 tonnes of recycled water daily, the city government said.
Amid water shortages, the STSP and operations in the city's industrial areas began self-administered water-saving measures in August and, as of November, had cut 8 percent of water consumption compared to the same period last year.
