This undated file photo shows the construction site for SK hynix Inc.'s planned semiconductor cluster in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province. Yonhap

SK hynix announced Friday a plan to invest 9.4 trillion won ($6.8 billion) in building its first fab and relevant facilities at an envisioned semiconductor cluster in Yongin, south of Seoul.

The world's No. 2 memory chip maker said its board approved of the investment plan for the semiconductor cluster, which it aims to nurture into a key production base for artificial intelligence (AI) memory chips.

SK hynix plans to begin construction of the first chip plant in March next year and complete it by May 2027. It will also build three additional fabs in the 4.15 million-square-meter cluster.

"We will do our best to build the fab to cement the foundation for our company's future growth and to respond to surging AI chip demand in a timely manner," the company said.

The investment amount includes the cost of building the first chip plant, as well as business facilities, such as water treatment facilities, power facilities and offices, according to SK hynix.

SK hynix is a key HBM supplier to the U.S. AI chip giant Nvidia, a major player in the AI semiconductor market with its graphics processing units.

SK hynix reported its highest quarterly profit in six years in the April-June period, fueled by solid sales of its premium memory chips used in AI computing. (Yonhap)