LG Group is about to spend 4 trillion won (about $3.34 billion) on a major plant for making liquid-crystal display (LCD) glass substrates and light-emitting diodes (LEDs) in Paju, Gyeonggi Province.

According to The Korea Times, the new 840,000-square-meter manufacturing facility, which will begin producing LED components and materials next year and LCD glass in 2012, will be critical in LG's plans to exploit the sharply increasing demand for next-generation display and lighting technologies, company officials said.

LG Chem, the country's leading chemical producer, will invest 3 trillion won into the new Paju plant through 2018 to establish seven manufacturing lines for LCD glass substrates. LG Innotek, the LED-related subsidiary, will invest another 1 trillion won through 2012.

The new plant will help offer one-stop manufacturing solution for next-generation technologies, including research and development, components and equipment, and LCD panels. The clear focus is on LED BLUs, which will be used in the large-size LCD televisions and monitors produced at LG Display's LCD cluster.

LG Innotek will use the new facility to produce LED BLUs and lighting components, with the first products to be rolled out next May. The plant will eventually boost the company's production capabilities of LEDs by four times the current level, said the company, which plans to generate 1.5 trillion won in LED revenue and acquire 10 percent of the global market in LED packages by 2012.