Intel has been seeking permissions to build a massive chip fabrication facility in Ireland, meant to manufacture 14 nanometer chips. Now, the Irish quasi-judicial agency An Bord Pleanála has given Intel a go-ahead signal for the project. The facility will take nearly two years to complete, providing 3,500 construction jobs along the way, apart from another 800 permanent jobs in the new plant.
Intel is planning to use the new facility to churn out next-generation 14-nanometer chips in the future. The company had announced back in 2011 that Leixlip in Ireland was to be one of its sites for an upcoming facility. Since then, Intel had been busy trying to get done with all the regulatory hurdles that stood in the way.
The final nod from An Bord Pleanála means that Intel is all set to launch the project. All that remains for the company’s board is to finalize the plan and get started.
The earliest hopes that Intel has with this plant are still two years away, which is essentially the time it will take for the huge facility to be constructed. Once it is functional, Intel hopes to produce not only 14nm chips in the future but also other, more powerful 10nm, 7nm and 5nm chips. This way, the new Leixlip plant is meant to serve the company in the long-term.
The overall cost of the project has been estimated to be $4 billion. Whereas that kind of money, in itself, is a huge bonus for the country’s economy, Intel’s plans will also provide for 3500 construction jobs for the duration of two years. Once the facility is complete, the company will hire yet another 800 full-time technical staff to work in it.
Courtesy: Silicon Republic
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