NCSIST opens Chiayi drone campus, industrial park groundbreaking held
The National Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology opened its new drone campus in Chiayi County's Minsyong Township and broke ground on the adjacent Minsyong Aerospace and Drone Industrial Park. The park, scheduled for completion in 2028, is expected to host 100 companies, create 1,200 jobs
The National Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology (NCSIST) yesterday held an opening ceremony for its new campus in Chiayi County's Minsyong Township and a groundbreaking ceremony for the Minsyong Aerospace and Drone Industrial Park. The opening commemorated the completion of facilities expected to broaden the nation's capacity to develop, test and manufacture drones, the institute said.
Construction of the 5.12-hectare campus, which includes research and development and manufacturing facilities, began on 5 Dec 2023 with an investment of NT$1.11 billion. The industrial park has received NT$6.859 billion in public infrastructure funding approved by the Executive Yuan and is to include production facilities, testing equipment, a flight-testing field and research and development space. It is scheduled to be completed in 2028.
The industrial park is expected to accommodate about 100 companies, create 1,200 jobs and generate NT$8 billion (US$251.73 million) in annual output. It is intended to attract drone manufacturers and suppliers, connecting them with the NCSIST's research, development and manufacturing capabilities at the campus and expanding Chiayi's drone industry cluster.
The event included a tour of a facility for integrated testing of medium and large drone systems, where President William Lai and other officials were briefed on the nation's drone research, testing and manufacturing capabilities. Lai said the campus opening shows that national-level research and manufacturing capabilities have taken root in Chiayi, while the industrial park would help spread those technological capabilities to the private sector and move Taiwan's drone industry toward greater scale.
Chiayi is ripe for evolution from a research and testing base into an important hub for the nation's drone industry, Lai said, adding that Taiwan has the capabilities to become an Asian centre of the democratic drone supply chain. Lai praised the county government for acting rapidly to develop the drone industry, including by repurposing unused school facilities to establish the Asia UAV AI Innovation Research Centre and seeking central government funding.
The Ministry of Economic Affairs last year launched a programme that would invest NT$44.2 billion through 2030 to strengthen Taiwan's drone industry. Taiwan's drone industry output reached NT$12.9 billion last year, more than 2.5 times the previous year's figure, while more than 267 companies are involved in systems integration and the manufacture of key components, Lai said.
