Samsung Biologics, a leading contract development and manufacturing organization, signed a land sales contract worth 426 billion won ($323 million) with Incheon metropolitan city to acquire space for its second Biocampus, the company said Monday.

The contract mainly focuses on building research and manufacturing facilities in the 11th district of Songdo International City, which is located within the Incheon Free Economic Zone.

With the second campus, the company plans to increase its manufacturing and development capacity to respond to soaring global biopharmaceutical demands in the face of multiple pandemic outbreaks.

The purchased 357,000 square-meter site is said to be about 30 percent larger than the first Biocampus on a 238,000 square-meter land currently in use in Songdo. The second site is expected to have four factories. The project may cost around 7 trillion won, it added. The Korean CDMO currently operates three plants, with the fourth one under construction at the first campus.

In the second Biocampus, along with global biopharmaceutical production facilities, the Open Innovation Center, a space for fostering biotech start-ups, is planned to be established. It also plans to strengthen its research and development capabilities by establishing R&D and analysis service facilities.

Samsung Biologics is expected to create 400 jobs with this construction.

"We thank the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and Incheon metropolitan city for letting Samsung Biologics make preemptive and bold investments," said Samsung Biologics' CEO John Rim. "We will work hard to become a company that can lead the global biopharmaceutical industry while making sure to develop the region as well."