A new "smart" production facility is to be constructed by South Korean pharmaceutical manufacturer Hanmi Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.
The company's Global Smart Facility will be built within its existing Paltan Plant in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi-do, which is the production base of its finished products.
The total area of the new facility will be 36,523 square meters, with eight floors above ground and a basement. It will incorporate the latest continuous process equipment, with compounding, granulation and tableting done in one step, and split valves preventing cross-contamination. The technology satisfies the requirements of the current good manufacturing practices (cGMP) in the United States and other countries.
Arranging the eight-story production line in a vertical structure improves production efficiency, Hanmi Pharmaceutical said.
The company will invest 121.5 billion won ($111 million) in the project, with construction work to be undertaken by Samsung Engineering. The facility is scheduled to be completed in June 2016.
Commenting on the project, Paltan Plant manager and Hanmi Pharmaceutical vice president Jong-Soo Woo said: "This Global Smart Facility is going to be constructed to aim for the complete automation from the pharmaceutical production to distribution."
"We will do our best in the factory construction with the belief that we are upgrading the paradigm of Korea's pharmaceutical production one step higher," he added.
When the plant is completed it will be South Korea's largest pharmaceutical production complex, with a total area of 77,027 square meters and an annual production capacity of 12 billion tablets, including existing facilities.
