On August 28, Korea-based Hynix Semiconductor commenced operations at the company's third NAND flash memory plant M11 in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province, according to a report by Chosun Ilbo. The plant occupies an area of 108,697 square meters and is located in the vicinity of Hynix's two other existing facilities, Nikkei reported.

The M11 plant is projected to manufacture high-density 16Gb and 32GBb flash memory utilizing 40nm level process technology on 300mm wafers. Initial monthly capacity is estimated at 40,000 wafers. Gradually, the M11 plant is expected to migrate towards 30nm level process in 2009, according to the Korea Times.