Intel to set up $5b chip plant in Arizona by 2013

Intel Corp plans to build a $5 billion, cutting-edge microchip factory in Arizona by 2013, sharply ramping up its U.S. manufacturing capacity as part of a major global expansion.

Construction should kick off in the middle of this year, it said in a statement. When completed, the plant will churn out next-generation 14-nanometer line-width transistors and microchip wafers of 300 millimeters.

Intel said in October it plans to spend $6 billion to $8 billion on high-tech manufacturing facilities in Arizona and Oregon, creating as many as 8,000 construction jobs.

In January, the world’s largest chip maker unveiled its next-generation microchip, code-named Sandy Bridge, which it said will yield about a third of its corporate revenue in 2011.

About three-quarters of Intel’s manufacturing takes place in the United States. But it is expanding capacity around the world, including in Israel and China.

Intel shares rose 0.5 percent to $22.07 on Nasdaq late Friday afternoon.

Source: Reuters