Work begins on SemIndia fab

The foundation stone for the $3 billion SemIndia wafer fab was laid Wednesday (June 7) at Shamshabad in southern Andhra Pradesh state.

The first of three phases will see construction of a $100 million assembly, test and packaging facility that will have annual capacity of 25 million chips.

The second phase includes setting up a fabrication facility at a cost of about $1 billion.

SemIndia will operate 200mm and 300mm facilities to make chips for cellphones, PCs, set-top boxes, connectivity devices along with other consumer and industrial electronics. The facility will largely focus on exports, but will also seek to meet growing domestic demand.

Officials said BOC will invest about $30 million to provide industrial and other gases for the new fab. Advanced Micro Devices is also expected to invest in SemIndia, provide technology and consume some of the facility's inventory.

The fab will be located in a 1,200-acre center near Hyderabad, which grants special tax breaks.

- K.C. Krishnadas
EE Times