"Super Project" Lands, Trillion-Yuan Metropolis "Chases the Light"
According to Foshan Release, on August 24, the first phase of the optical chip industrialization project with a total fixed asset investment of 6.3 billion yuan officially obtained the land use right, marking that the project has officially entered the substantive promotion stage. This project is not only the largest fixed-asset investment project in the semiconductor sector in Foshan and even Guangdong Province, but also the first investment project to obtain land after the establishment of Foshan New Kinetic Energy Industry Guidance Fund.
It is understood that the project is located in Danzao Town, Nanhai District. The first phase of the project will focus on core products such as optoelectronic materials, optoelectronic sensors and optical modules, build production workshops and supporting public auxiliary facilities for optoelectronic materials and device module projects. After reaching full production, the annual output value is expected to be nearly 10 billion yuan, which will effectively drive the agglomeration and development of the upstream and downstream industrial chains.
Facing the new round of scientific and technological revolution and accelerated industrial transformation, superimposed on the in-depth adjustment of the real estate sector, Foshan's economic growth has been weak and under continuous pressure: in the first half of the year, Foshan's GDP reached 632.186 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 0.2%. Under the slowdown of growth rate, "weak transformation and failure to cultivate pillar emerging industries" has become a frequent judgment from the outside world when looking at this important manufacturing town.
Directly facing its shortcomings, Foshan held a work conference on accelerating the construction of a modern industrial system in June, proposing to build a "1+7+3+3+N" industrial promotion system. Among them, the semiconductor industry, together with energy and power, intelligent connected vehicles and intelligent robots, has been included in the seven key industries for priority layout.
Foshan's development of the semiconductor industry does not "start from scratch". As early as the 14th Five-Year Plan period, Guangdong had put forward the goal of building "the third pole of China's integrated circuit industry", planning to form an industrial pattern centered on Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Zhuhai, driving the coordinated development of Foshan, Dongguan and other regions.
At that time, Foshan conducted a self-analysis that as one of the major home appliance industrial bases in China, the domestic market space for localized application of local semiconductor products is huge and has broad prospects. However, the support for the industry needs to be improved: no special policies for the development of the semiconductor industry have been formulated at the municipal level, and there is a lack of relevant financial funds and social capital investment.
Accordingly, Foshan clearly put forward the development path of "strengthening design, making up for packaging and testing, building platforms, and attracting talents". Up to now, Foshan has initially built a full-chain ecological system for the semiconductor industry covering "materials - equipment - design - manufacturing - packaging and testing". By 2025, the city has gathered 136 semiconductor enterprises above designated size.
More landmark nodes have emerged in the past two years: a number of major projects with the potential to become "chain owners" have been intensively implemented, targeting the most core and highest value-added links of the industrial chain. Taking the optical chip project that obtained the land right this time as an example, the project has a fixed asset investment of 6.3 billion yuan, and the annual output value is expected to be nearly 10 billion yuan after reaching full production. It will effectively fill the gap in the production capacity of high-end optoelectronic materials and optical chips, and enhance the independent and controllable capability of the industrial chain.
Why did the project choose to settle in Foshan? The local government's efforts to promote emerging industries have become the key consideration. Previously, Foshan has established the Municipal Semiconductor Industry Office, which will coordinate the park construction, project layout and investment attraction of the five districts. At the same time, Foshan will also set up a semiconductor industry alliance to integrate industry associations, scientific research institutions and chain-leading enterprises to promote precise docking between upstream and downstream.
Just last week, Mu Zhiping, Mayor of Foshan, chaired a city-wide symposium on the development of the semiconductor industry, listened to the representatives of enterprises including Core Semiconductor, Lan Jian Electronics, Hilink Micro, Wate Gas, and Liandong Technology introduce their enterprise development situations, and hoped that the majority of enterprises will firm up their confidence, seize opportunities, focus on deep cultivation in various segmented fields of the semiconductor industry, and further become stronger, better and larger.
From the perspective of the external environment, the global semiconductor market has ushered in a historic breakthrough in 2026 driven by AI technology. According to the forecast of the World Semiconductor Trade Statistics (WSTS), the global semiconductor market size will reach 1.51 trillion US dollars in 2026, a year-on-year increase of 89.9%, exceeding the trillion US dollar mark for the first time. For Foshan, which is in a critical period of transformation, this is a rare window of opportunity.
This article is from the WeChat Official Account "City Evolution Theory", author: Yang Huan, published with authorization from 36Kr.