Samsung Electronics plans to begin operations at the first semiconductor plant in the new Yongin chip cluster as early as 2029 — one to two years ahead of the original schedule, Yonhap reports, citing sources.

The acceleration of the project is linked to the government’s intensified program to develop the national Yongin industrial complex, which is expected to become one of South Korea’s key centers for advanced chip manufacturing.

At the site near Seoul, Samsung plans to build six semiconductor manufacturing facilities. The earlier launch of the first plant will allow the company to respond more quickly to growing global demand for artificial intelligence chips.

“An earlier start of operations at the first facility will allow Samsung to respond more quickly to the rapidly growing global demand for AI chips,” an industry representative said.

Earlier, Samsung announced a large-scale investment plan: the company intends to invest about 2.03 quadrillion won ($1.35 trillion) in the development of semiconductor clusters in Pyeongtaek and Yongin, and an additional 400 trillion won in the construction of two new plants in the city of Gwangju.