SK hynix has handed program management on its first U.S. AI memory plant to a Korean firm, and the job runs through cleanroom completion in 2028.
HanmiGlobal, the Seoul-headquartered construction and project management company, said on September 21 that it is construction manager for the high-bandwidth memory advanced packaging plant SK hynix is building in West Lafayette, Indiana. The investment is more than $4 billion on a 133-acre site in Purdue Research Park.
What the CM Scope Covers
Design management, schedule and cost control, quality, safety, risk management, and coordination across SK hynix’s Korean and U.S. partner firms. HanmiGlobal has been engaged since preconstruction in August 2024.
This is a professional services award, not a construction contract. No general contractor is named in either HanmiGlobal’s release or ENR’s coverage, and no value is disclosed for HanmiGlobal’s own scope. That gap is the obvious thing to chase.
Excavation started in March 2026. The ceremonial groundbreaking was August 27 at Purdue’s Holloway Gymnasium. Cleanroom completion is targeted for October 2028, with SK hynix saying it will supply HBM packaged and tested on site to U.S. customers from the second half of 2029.
Why an Owner Contracts Out the Program Management
A packaging fab isn’t a building with equipment in it. Cleanroom construction has to be sequenced against power, water, gas and exhaust infrastructure, all of which has to land before tool install can start, on a schedule where a month of slip costs a product generation.
HanmiGlobal says it currently manages more than 20 advanced industrial facility projects in the U.S. for Korean owners across semiconductors, batteries and undersea cable plants. That specific experience is what’s being bought.
Federal support runs to $458 million in CHIPS Incentives Program direct funding, awarded in 2024, plus up to $500 million in CHIPS loans drawn against the act’s $75 billion loan authority. SK hynix also holds an MOU with Purdue on advanced-packaging research and talent development.
The Quotes Belong to August
Indiana Governor Mike Braun and Purdue President Mitch Daniels both spoke at the groundbreaking, not at the September announcement. Daniels called the project a “starting point for establishing Indiana as a hub for the semiconductor industry.” Attribute accordingly.
The “more than $4 billion” figure is the owner’s, not a hard cost. Full facility detail sits in our SK Hynix West Lafayette Advanced Packaging Fab listing.