South Korean Samsung Electronics Co. , the world's second largest maker of memory chips, announced Thursday a 33 billion US dollars plan to build a new production complex in Hwaseong, a city near Seoul.

The company said in a statement it plans to build eight chip fabrication lines and one research center by 2012 to develop next- generation 50-nanometer chip technology in Hwaseong, some 50 kilometers south of Seoul.

This will bring the number of its production lines to a total of 24.

It is the biggest single investment of Samsung Electronics since 1974 when the company started semiconductor business.

The company also said it will invest 860 billion won (834.9 million dollars) and employ 5,000 researchers in the envisioned research center.

The world's largest computer chip maker on Thursday also laid the foundation stone of the second semiconductor complex next to its existing production facility in Hwaseong.

With the completion of the construction of the new complex, Samsung targets 61 billion dollars in earnings from total semiconductor sales in 2012, compared with 16.2 billion dollars in 2004, said the statement.

Moreover, the investment also will bring 14,000 new jobs by 2012.

According to the seven-year investment plan, the first fabrication line will begin operation in the first half of 2006.

Source: Xinhua