US-based Micron Technology held the groundbreaking ceremony for its £2.25 billion chip assembly and test facility in India. The assembly, testing, marking, and packaging (ATMP) plant for Micron will be built on 93 acres of land in the Sanand GIDC-II industrial park and is anticipated to be operational in 18 months.
Union information technology and railways minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, Union MoS for electronics and information technology Rajeev Chandrasekhar and Gujarat CM Bhupendra Patel were among others present. The computer storage chip manufacturer will now begin construction of its semiconductor plant. The facility will focus on transforming wafers into ball grid array (BGA) integrated circuit packages, memory modules and solid state drives.
The factory will be built in two phases with an initial expenditure of $875 million. The state and federal governments will fund the remaining investment. Over the following five years, it is anticipated that the combined investments will provide about 5,000 direct jobs and 15,000 chances for community employment.
Construction of Phase 1 will include a 500,000 square feet clean room space, scheduled to be operational by late 2024. The factory will be designed in accordance with LEED gold standards of the Green Building Council and will integrate advanced water-saving technologies, enabling a zero liquid discharge system.
Gujarat CM Patel remarked that the ceremony was taking place just three months after the MoU was signed. “The fast progress is due to the proactive policies of the government. With this plant, the state will become a hub for semiconductor and chip manufacturing. It is the first step towards self-reliance in the semiconductor sector and creation of over 20,000 jobs,” he said.