Taiwan's Nanya Technology looks set to build a huge new memory chip plant in Pingtung instead of Yunlin, a win for the southern county and a blow to its rival bidder.

• The Formosa Plastics-owned DRAM maker plans a 12-inch wafer fab costing around NT$400 billion, with the national science council due to sign off on October 1.
• As recently as August the plan leaned toward Yunlin, so Pingtung's late win is a surprise.
• Local officials say water and power are covered — rivers and groundwater kept supply strong even through Taiwan's worst drought in a century, and Taipower has agreed to the plant's electricity needs.
• The fab alone would employ close to 4,000 people, with the county pushing for local hires first and more suppliers expected to follow.
• Pingtung is holding extra land at its science park and building another industrial park to court more chip companies.

Outlook: If the October 1 review goes through, Pingtung becomes Taiwan's next chipmaking hub, and the pressure shifts to delivering stable water and power on schedule.