The US-based Micron Technology signed an MoU with the Gujarat government to establish a semiconductor manufacturing plant at Sanand, located about 22 km from Ahmedabad, in what is being hailed as a historic event that will propel India's journey to become a worldwide semiconductor manufacturing centre.
Micron Technology, which is the fifth largest semiconductor manufacturer globally, will invest £2.25 billion to set up a semi-conductor assembly, test, marking, and packaging (ATMP) facility in Sanand, wherein it will focus on transforming wafers into ball grid array (BGA) integrated circuit packages, memory modules and solid-state drives.
The new assembly and test facility in Gujarat will start phased construction this year, and the factory is anticipated to be operational by 2024. After the facility is put into operation, the government claims that 20,000 people will get employment, including 5,000 direct jobs and 15,000 indirect ones.
The company has 11 manufacturing plants in the US, Japan, Taiwan, and China. This is the second significant investment under the $10 bn Semicon India Programme aimed at developing India’s semiconductors and display manufacturing ecosystem. The Gujarat Industrial Development Corporation (GIDC) has already developed more than 45,000 hectares of land for industrial use with plug-and-play facilities. Micron has selected Sanand Industrial Estate-II for its new ATMP facility. Sanand GIDC is a highly industrialized zone, home to many national and multinational manufacturing industries.
The MoU was exchanged between senior VP of Micron Technology, Gursharan Singh, and Vijay Nehra, secretary (science and technology), in the presence of CM Bhupendra Patel and Union minister for communications, electronics and information technology, Ashwini Vaishnaw.