The costs for the new Samsung chip factory in Texas have soared to over $25 billion, up from the originally predicted $17 billion.
The skyrocketing costs are mostly due to construction materials such as steel shooting up in price since construction began last year, according to a Reuters report.
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“The higher construction cost is about 80% of the cost increase,” one insider told the outlet. “The materials have gotten more expensive.”
Two sources said that the company has already spent roughly half of the original $17 billion budget as it rushes to complete the factory by 2024 so that it can begin production ahead of schedule in 2025.
The new $25 billion figure means that the single facility will have cost more than half of all the company’s operations in the United States since 1978 combined, according to Samsung’s website.
The planned facility in Taylor, Texas, is located 30 miles outside the state capital of Austin. It is expected to create 2,000 high-tech jobs and several thousand more construction jobs as the facility is built.
Several leading Republicans enthusiastically endorsed the plant for reasons ranging from job growth to national security.
“Companies like Samsung continue to invest in Texas because of our world-class business climate and exceptional workforce,” Gov. Greg Abbott (R-TX) said.
“Samsung’s new semiconductor manufacturing facility in Taylor will bring countless opportunities for hardworking Central Texans and their families and will play a major role in our state’s continued exceptionalism in the semiconductor industry. I look forward to expanding our partnership to keep the Lone Star State a leader in advanced technology and a dynamic economic powerhouse.”
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Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX) stressed the national security implications of the plant.
“It is imperative to the national security of the United States that we increase our leadership in the future design, manufacturing and development of advanced semiconductor chips,” he said. “Of course, there is no better place for this important effort than the great state of Texas. I am thrilled to join Gov. Greg Abbott and Sen. John Cornyn in congratulating Samsung on its new semiconductor plant in Taylor, which will add thousands of high-paying jobs in the local area and ensure our state is a leader in chip manufacturing.”
