Samsung Biologics said that it has started the construction of its fourth plant in Songdo, Incheon, in a virtual ceremony on Wednesday due to the recent spread of the Covid-19 virus.

The fourth plant has a maximum capacity of 256,000 liters, surpassing the third plant as the world's single largest drug production facility and is almost as large as the company’s three existing factories' combined capacity, the company said in a news release on Wednesdays.

Samsung Biologics, a contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO), aims to start partial production in 2022 and full operation in 2023.

"We designed the fourth plant as a 'super-plant' that provides one-stop service in one plant, from cell line development to finished goods production," the company said. The company will invest 2 trillion won ($1.8 billion) in building the factory. The factory will hire 1,850 new employees, and 6,400 construction workers will be needed to build it.

Samsung Biologics plans to open an online advertisement center for the plant soon. The website will provide real-time information, including the fourth factory's innovative design, features, and construction process.

"Through the fourth plant, we aim to drastically increase the speed of global biopharmaceutical supply and maximize customer satisfaction," the company said. "It will open a new era based on super-differentiated competitiveness."

Samsung Biologics CEO Kim Tae-han said, "We will continue to make efforts to enhance K-Bio's global status through continuous investment, biopharmaceutical development, technological innovation, market development, and economic revitalization through export expansion, and job creation."