Samsung Biologics said Tuesday that it would invest 1.7 trillion won ($1.4 billion) into building its fourth plant in Songdo, Incheon.

Samsung Biologics CEO Kim Tae-han unveils the company’s plan to build a new plant in Songdo, Incheon, during an online news conference on Tuesday.

"The plan is part of our long-term strategy to maximize operational efficiency and scale up development and manufacturing capabilities in response to growing bio-manufacturing demands," the company said. "We are also negotiating with IFEZ (Incheon Free Economic Zone) to buy more land for the second bio complex."

Upon finalizing the terms under negotiation, the total size of the two investments is expected to exceed 2 trillion won, surpassing the total amount invested in the company's previous three plants.

The fourth plant will also set the record as the world's largest production facility with a bioreactor capacity of 256,000 liters.

“The company will combine know-how accumulated through the construction of the three existing with our unique design technology in building the fourth plant,” the company said. "Also, we plan to build the factory into the world's most eco-friendly biopharmaceutical plant by applying state-of-the-art facilities and automation technology."

Samsung Biologics will break the ground in the second half of the year and begins partial production by the end of 2022, the company added. If and when the fourth plant runs fully, the company will have a combined bioreactor capacity of 620,000 liters.

"The amount will account for 30 percent of the world’s total contract manufacturing organization (CMO) market, making Samsung Biologics the largest CMO company globally," it said.

Samsung Biologics CEO Kim Tae-han also said, "In the ceaselessly changing business environment, we are strategically positioning ourselves to respond to the needs of our global clients who are producing new medicines with increasing complexity and diversity, and deliver superior client satisfaction."

With the construction of the fourth plant, Samsung Biologics will invest in a total line refinement and the addition of new small and midsize facilities to ensure production efficiency and provide top-notch services to raise the bar even higher to establish the company as the setter of global standards, Kim added.

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