Au Optronics (AUO) expects its new 8.5G LCD panel fab at the Central Taiwan Science Park (CTSP) to come on line next year as scheduled, as the government has allowed construction on the plant to continue despite a recent court injunction on developing the site where the facility is located, company chairman KY Lee said Thursday.

The schedule for equipment installation at the 8.5G plant remains on track, and AUO has not seen any losses from the recent dispute over the development of a new CTSP campus at Chihsing, Lee added.

An administrative court on July 30 ordered the Chihsing campus development be suspended pending further environmental impact assessment.

But the government has vowed to appeal the ban, with the National Science Council (NSC) and the CTSP administration giving AUO a green light to continue work on the 8.5G project. They have argued that only government agencies are bound by the injunction, while companies already operating there - including AUO - have the rights to continue work.

Lee lauded the government for its efficiency handling on the CTSP row, and hopes the case can be completely solved soon. He said it is an international dispute involving not just AUO, as about 120 companies - suppliers and contractors from the US, Germany, Japan, Korea and Taiwan - would be affected.