Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Dr Y S Rajasekhar Reddy on Wednesday unveiled the foundation stone for the $3-billion Fab City project -- billed as India's first world-class wafer fabrication unit and first assembly and test manufacturing unit -- on the outskirts of Hyderabad.
Union Minister for Communications and Information Technology Dayanidhi Maran graced the function.
The Fab City Project, which will become the centre for advanced manufacturing, is now on a fast track. The project is envisaged to be set up in three phases.
Under the first phase, a world class assembly, test, marking and packaging (ATMP) facility will be set up in an year's time at an estimated outlay of $100 million. The ATMP plant will churn out 25 million chips a year.
Under the second phase, a fabrication (Fab) plant will be set up at an estimated cost of $1 billion. In the third phase, a sophisticated facility will be established with an outlay of $2 billion.
SemIndia will operate 200 mm and 300 mm Fab facilities for manufacturing semiconductor chips for cell phones, personal computers, set-top boxes, connectivity devices and other consumer, industrial and strategic electronics.
Once the Fab City becomes fully functional, it will become a world-class hub of advanced semiconductor and electronics manufacturing for domestic consumption with a strong export potential. The fab facility will manufacture 240,000 wafers every year with each wafer potentially holding hundreds of chips.
"Ever since I took over as Minister of Communications and Information Technology, I had a vision to make India as a major hub for hardware manufacturing. I realized that without a semiconductor manufacturing base, this would not be possible. SemIndia's fab project is indeed a major step for India in the high-tech manufacturing field," Dayanidhi Maran said.
Maran congratulated Chief Minister Dr Rajasekhar Reddy for supporting this initiative and complimented Dr Vinod K Agarwal, chairman and chief executive officer of SemIndia Fab Private Limited, for achieving several milestones within a short span of time.
On November 30 last year, SemIndia entered into a broad-based agreement with Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), the world's second largest manufacturer of processors, including transfer of technology for SemIndia's Fab, marketing and sales, customer relationship for SemIndia's chips and assembly and test services and other joint partnership initiatives.
On February 16 this year, SemIndia and Andhra Pradesh government announced setting up of Fab City in Hyderabad for establishing a semiconductor manufacturing eco-system. In April 2006, Flextronics Inc also entered into a partnership with SemIndia for advanced manufacturing. SemIndia announced another major investment by Base Oxygen Corporation (BOC) today. "All these augur well for a sound manufacturing base in this important sector," he added.
At the foundation stone unveiling ceremony, SemIndia signed a memorandum of understanding with BOC, a global industrial gases company, as a strategic partner for providing gases and vacuum products and services. SemIndia is leading an advanced $3 billion semiconductor fabrication unit and an assembly and test unit in collaboration with AMD, Flextronics, Government of India, Andhra Pradesh government, India Semiconductor Association and other world-class semiconductor and electronics companies.
BOC is likely to invest up to $27 million for provision of industrial and electronic gases and chemicals for SemIndia's advanced manufacturing business units and facilitate the gases infrastructure needed for other manufacturing units that become part of Fab City.
"SemIndia is leading the effort to create India's first comprehensive ecosystem necessary to excel in advanced semiconductor and electronics products manufacturing in the country to be located at Fab city in Andhra Pradesh. Fab City will be a 1,200 acre centre of excellence located near Hyderabad with special tax incentives where advanced semiconductor an electronics manufacturing and related industry will co-exist with world class R&D centers," Vinod Agarwal said.
"The Fab City in Hyderabad underlines Andhra Pradesh's commitment to embrace semiconductor manufacturing and will pave the way for a complete ecosystem, amply demonstrated by SemIndia's partnership with world-class companies like AMD, Flextronics and BOC. We are confident that the Fab City project will result in major economic development in the state through significant employment creation and investments flow," Dr Rajasekhar Reddy said.
Maran said that there was an intense race among the states for this project. Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh were in the final list and it was a very close call.
Andhra Pradesh lobbied the best and got the project. If Fab City project is coming to AP, it is due to the efforts of Dr Rajasekhar Reddy," he said and pointed out that his home state -- Tamil Nadu -- lost the race due to lacklustre attitude of the then state chief minister J Jayalalithaa.
Union Minister for Communications and Information Technology Dayanidhi Maran graced the function.
The Fab City Project, which will become the centre for advanced manufacturing, is now on a fast track. The project is envisaged to be set up in three phases.
Under the first phase, a world class assembly, test, marking and packaging (ATMP) facility will be set up in an year's time at an estimated outlay of $100 million. The ATMP plant will churn out 25 million chips a year.
Under the second phase, a fabrication (Fab) plant will be set up at an estimated cost of $1 billion. In the third phase, a sophisticated facility will be established with an outlay of $2 billion.
SemIndia will operate 200 mm and 300 mm Fab facilities for manufacturing semiconductor chips for cell phones, personal computers, set-top boxes, connectivity devices and other consumer, industrial and strategic electronics.
Once the Fab City becomes fully functional, it will become a world-class hub of advanced semiconductor and electronics manufacturing for domestic consumption with a strong export potential. The fab facility will manufacture 240,000 wafers every year with each wafer potentially holding hundreds of chips.
"Ever since I took over as Minister of Communications and Information Technology, I had a vision to make India as a major hub for hardware manufacturing. I realized that without a semiconductor manufacturing base, this would not be possible. SemIndia's fab project is indeed a major step for India in the high-tech manufacturing field," Dayanidhi Maran said.
Maran congratulated Chief Minister Dr Rajasekhar Reddy for supporting this initiative and complimented Dr Vinod K Agarwal, chairman and chief executive officer of SemIndia Fab Private Limited, for achieving several milestones within a short span of time.
On November 30 last year, SemIndia entered into a broad-based agreement with Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), the world's second largest manufacturer of processors, including transfer of technology for SemIndia's Fab, marketing and sales, customer relationship for SemIndia's chips and assembly and test services and other joint partnership initiatives.
On February 16 this year, SemIndia and Andhra Pradesh government announced setting up of Fab City in Hyderabad for establishing a semiconductor manufacturing eco-system. In April 2006, Flextronics Inc also entered into a partnership with SemIndia for advanced manufacturing. SemIndia announced another major investment by Base Oxygen Corporation (BOC) today. "All these augur well for a sound manufacturing base in this important sector," he added.
At the foundation stone unveiling ceremony, SemIndia signed a memorandum of understanding with BOC, a global industrial gases company, as a strategic partner for providing gases and vacuum products and services. SemIndia is leading an advanced $3 billion semiconductor fabrication unit and an assembly and test unit in collaboration with AMD, Flextronics, Government of India, Andhra Pradesh government, India Semiconductor Association and other world-class semiconductor and electronics companies.
BOC is likely to invest up to $27 million for provision of industrial and electronic gases and chemicals for SemIndia's advanced manufacturing business units and facilitate the gases infrastructure needed for other manufacturing units that become part of Fab City.
"SemIndia is leading the effort to create India's first comprehensive ecosystem necessary to excel in advanced semiconductor and electronics products manufacturing in the country to be located at Fab city in Andhra Pradesh. Fab City will be a 1,200 acre centre of excellence located near Hyderabad with special tax incentives where advanced semiconductor an electronics manufacturing and related industry will co-exist with world class R&D centers," Vinod Agarwal said.
"The Fab City in Hyderabad underlines Andhra Pradesh's commitment to embrace semiconductor manufacturing and will pave the way for a complete ecosystem, amply demonstrated by SemIndia's partnership with world-class companies like AMD, Flextronics and BOC. We are confident that the Fab City project will result in major economic development in the state through significant employment creation and investments flow," Dr Rajasekhar Reddy said.
Maran said that there was an intense race among the states for this project. Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh were in the final list and it was a very close call.
Andhra Pradesh lobbied the best and got the project. If Fab City project is coming to AP, it is due to the efforts of Dr Rajasekhar Reddy," he said and pointed out that his home state -- Tamil Nadu -- lost the race due to lacklustre attitude of the then state chief minister J Jayalalithaa.