WASHINGTON – Intel, the world’s largest semiconductor maker, plans to announce plans on Friday to build a new $ 20 billion plant outside Columbus, Ohio, in a bid to boost President Joe Biden’s move to boost U.S. production. applauds as an important sign of their work. important microchips.
Biden is expected to turn the planned project in New Albany, Ohio, into a speech center at the White House on Friday morning aimed at improving supply chain issues.
The president is also urging Congress to pass the CHIPS law for America, which will allocate $ 52 billion to encourage future investment in semiconductors.
The COVID-19 pandemic has led to a shortage of semiconductor microchips that power thousands of products, including cars, cell phones, home appliances, game consoles and medical devices. The shortage has depleted automotive inventory, caused global supply chain problems, and raised consumer prices for cars and other goods.
The United States is increasingly relying on foreign imports of computer chips. Industry representatives estimate that 12 percent of the world’s chips are now produced in the United States, down from 37 percent in the 1990s. About 80% is produced in Asia.
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Intel’s Ohio project, which will be the first new production site in 40 years, will include two semiconductor manufacturing plants, or what the company calls factories. Eventually, it could invest in eight plants and $ 100 billion over the next decade, including Intel and its suppliers and partners.
Construction is expected to begin this year, with the first chips to be produced by 2025.
“Ultimately, we hope to build the largest semiconductor manufacturing site on the planet,” Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger and senior vice president Keywan Esfarjoni said in a letter to Ohio Gov. Mike DeVine and Lt. Gen. John Husted last month.
Since the beginning of 2021, the semiconductor industry has announced $ 80 billion worth of new projects in the U.S., according to the White House. The Ohio project is expected to generate 3,000 construction jobs and an additional 7,000 construction jobs.
Contribution: Mike Williams, The Columbus Dispatch
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