The complex will be composed of a thin-film-transistor liquid crystal display (TFT-LCD) plant, a color filter plant and a module assembly fab, he said.

The TFL-LCD plant will make flat panels measuring 1,500 millimeters by 1,850 millimeters (60 inches by 74 inches) with the investment geared mainly towards the robust growth expected in LCD television sales, Lee said.

The new plant will be designed to cut 30-inch to 40-inch panels, while LCD televisions with screens larger than 30 inches will be the mainstream products down the road, he added.

Construction of the plant started at the end of July and it is scheduled to begin mass production in the second quarter of 2005 with an initial monthly capacity of 60,000 panels.

No extra funding will be needed for the project as the company has already secured enough capital, it added.

The complex is part of AU Optronics Corp.'s ambitious 200 billion dollar (5.8 billion US) project to build a TFT-LCD base in the Taichung industrial park. The industrial base will house another TFT-LCD complex.

The company's joint development program with Fujitsu Display Technologies, established at the beginning of this year, will be an underlying force for the development of LCD TV production, the company said.

Au Optronics, Taiwan's leading manufacturer of thin-film-thermometer liquid crystal display, ranked third in the world after Samsung and L.G. Philips of South Korea.

AU Optronics's revenues in the six months to June amounted to 42.6 billion Taiwan dollars.

SPACE.WIRE