SK Hynix, the world’s fourth-largest chipmaker, said Wednesday that it may build new assembly lines for DRAM chips in Icheon, Gyeonggi Province.

“The firm is currently considering adding the new assembly lines to the ‘M10’ factory, which have been dilapidated,” a company official said in a statement.

The announcement came after news reports that the country’s second-largest chipmaker plans to invest 15 trillion won ($14 billion) over the next eight years to build new factories in the region.

The official declined to confirm the total construction cost.

“Currently nothing has yet been set for the schedule, and the company has not decided if it will keep the old factory in operation,” the official said.

The company said in the statement that it would give further details on the construction plan when it is officially decided.

The M10 assembly lines have been mired into an environmental case in which the firm leaked contaminated toxic chemical substances and gases out of the assembly lines without purifying them.

SK Hynix produces DRAM at the Icheon factory, and it plans to roll out 3-D NAND chips at assembly lines in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province, as early as late next year.

By Kim Young-won (wone0102@heraldcorp.com)