Osaka plans to support 33 Billion Yen for Sharp LCD plant

Osaka Prefecture announced its plan to give 33 billion yen ($291.4 million) in subsidies to Sharp Corp. and parts companies over the next ten years to help Sharp build the world's biggest plant for liquid crystal display TV panels in Sakai, prefectural officials said.

The prefecture now plans to extend 18 billion yen ($158.9 million) to component suppliers looking to relocate their manufacturing bases to an industrial complex where the plant will be built. Osaka has already earmarked 15 billion yen ($132.45 million) for Sharp, the maximum available under a prefectural ordinance. The economic benefits from the new plant are estimated to reach 3.9 trillion yen ($3.44 trillion), with 120 billion yen ($1.06 billion) in tax revenues expected over the 10-year period, the officials expects. Sharp will spend about 380 billion yen ($3.355 billion) on the plant, which will be bigger than its current LCD panel production base in Kameyama, Mie Prefecture.

Total investment could hit 1 trillion yen ($8.83 billion) if capital outlays by firms in supporting industries are included. Construction of the new plant will begin from November this year, with the aim of moving into mass production from March 2010. The plant will be the first in the world to use 10th-generation glass substrates, which make it possible to fabricate LCD panels for big-screen TVs with extremely high efficiency.