Intel Has Decided To Locate Facility In India, Says Report

BANGALORE, India — Intel Corp. will locate a production facility in the southern Indian city of Chennai, according to a news report Monday (April 11) quoting India's union minister for communications and information technology, Dayanidhi Maran.

No further details about what will be manufactured at the proposed plant, or whether it will be a fabrication facility, were available. Past reports have assumed that an Indian manufacturing facility would imply the construction of a wafer fab. Other observers have said this is unlikely, and that a test and assembly facility for the chip packaging is more likely.

According to a report in The Hindu of Chennai (formerly Madras), "All multinational companies look for a very good deal and other incentivespointing out that Intel had finalized its plans for a manufacturing facility in Chennai." It quoted the minister as saying: " They [Intel] are waiting for the special economic zone policy to be announced."

The report said the minister had assured Intel Chairman Craig Barrett when they met last year that the project would be put on a fast track arrangement.

The minister was also quoted as saying that the federal government had formed an interministerial task force from the telecoms, commerce and finance ministers to coordinate all issues regarding the Nokia manufacturing plant to make mobile devices announced last week. Nokia's plant is also coming up in the state of Tamil Nadu, though not in Chennia, the state capital.

Three more global telecom equipment manufacturers are shaping their India plans, including Motorola and Nortel Networks, it quoted Maran as saying.