[Asia Economy Reporter Yujin Cho] The American semiconductor company Intel is establishing its first semiconductor factory in Vigasio, northeastern Italy. This is part of a plan to invest a total of 80 billion euros in Europe over the next 10 years to enhance semiconductor manufacturing capabilities within Europe and build a global semiconductor supply chain.
According to major foreign media on the 25th (local time), Intel is investing approximately 4.5 billion euros (about 6.2062 trillion KRW) to build an advanced semiconductor packaging and assembly plant in Vigasio, Veneto region, northeastern Italy.
Multiple sources reported that Intel and the Italian government have finalized negotiations to select Vigasio in the Veneto region of northeastern Italy as the site for Intel’s new semiconductor factory. During negotiations led by Prime Minister Mario Draghi before his resignation, both sides discussed two final candidate sites, including Piedmont.
Vigasio is a transportation hub where the Brenner Highway and railway pass through, and foreign media analyzed that its good connectivity with Magdeburg, the capital of Saxony-Anhalt in Germany, where Intel plans to start construction in the first half of next year, was a key factor in the final site selection.
An anonymous source said that both sides reached this final agreement earlier this month but planned to announce it publicly after the general election results were released.
Intel is expected to invest about 4.5 billion euros in the factory establishment, creating 1,500 jobs. The factory is scheduled to begin operations between 2025 and 2027, and a total of about 3,500 jobs are expected to be created across suppliers and partner companies.
This investment is part of the European Union (EU)’s semiconductor industry development strategy. Having experienced a severe semiconductor supply shortage during the COVID-19 pandemic, the EU announced plans in March to build cutting-edge semiconductor infrastructure within Europe.
Intel, aiming to change the semiconductor production structure concentrated in Asia, including Korea and Taiwan, plans to cooperate with the EU, which shares the same interests, to invest 80 billion euros over the next 10 years, including a first-phase investment of 33 billion euros, to establish advanced semiconductor production and research and development (R&D) facilities throughout Europe.
As part of this plan, semiconductor production facilities and infrastructure are being established across the EU, including Germany, Ireland, Poland, and Spain, in addition to Italy.
Foreign media also reported that the Italian government is negotiating with Europe’s largest semiconductor manufacturer STMicroelectronics, Taiwan’s MEMC Electronic Materials and TSMC, and Tower Semiconductor, an Israeli semiconductor company acquired by Intel earlier this year, to foster the domestic semiconductor industry.
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