NCSIST opens Chiayi Minxiong campus as drone industrial park breaks ground

Taiwan’s National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology (NCSIST) officially opened its Minxiong campus in Chiayi on Sept. 28, while construction also began on the western section of the Minxiong Aerospace and Drone Industrial Park. The project is set up under a dual-track structure: the eastern side is focused on defense R&D, and the western side is designed for military-civilian applications. Officials presented the development as a move that pushes Taiwan’s drone supply chain from R&D verification toward mass production. According to the source, the eastern campus has received NT$1.11 billion in investment since December 2023 to develop 5.12 hectares of land, including an R&D building and integrated testing hangars for medium- and large-sized drone systems. The western industrial park has been approved for NT$6.859 billion in public construction funding by the Executive Yuan and is scheduled for completion in 2028. Authorities estimate the park could host around 100 companies, create 1,200 jobs, and generate NT$8 billion in annual output. Chiayi County officials said the broader local buildout now links R&D, testing, manufacturing, and industrial park capacity through the Minxiong site and the Asia UAV AI Innovation Application R&D Center.