From Our Special Correspondent
Daijiworld Media Network
Bengaluru, Aug 2: The Karnataka government and iPhone maker Foxconn have signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) for two projects with an estimated investment outlay of Rs. 5,000 crore, expected to generate 13,000 jobs.
These projects are in addition to the iPhone end assembly plant, which the Taiwanese company plans to set up at Devanahalli ITIR with an investment of about Rs. 14,000 crore, said Large and Medium Industries Minister MB Patil on Wednesday.
Providing details about the signing formalities that took place at a private hotel in Chennai on Monday, he mentioned that Foxconn Chairman Young Liu and State IT/BT Minister Priyanka Kharge were present on the occasion.
Patil explained that the projects include a Phone enclosure project, for which FII (Foxcon Industrialist Internet), a Foxconn subsidiary, will invest Rs 3,000 crore ($350 Mn), estimated to create 12,000 employments. The other project is the Semicon equipment project, wherein Foxconn would invest Rs 2,000 crore ($250 Mn) in collaboration with Applied Materials, likely generating 1000 jobs, he added.
The Letter of Intent (LoI) outlines the framework for the proposed two projects that Foxconn plans to establish in the state.
The phone enclosure unit will engage in manufacturing subassembly components for smartphones, specifically mechanical enclosures of iPhones. FII is currently evaluating suitable land parcels in and around Bengaluru for this purpose.
It is noted that the FII leadership team had met and held discussions with Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Ministers M B Patil, and Priyanka Kharge a few weeks ago at Bengaluru regarding the above project. Following the discussion, the company team was taken to Japan Industrial Township in Tumakuru on the same day where the available 100-acre parcel of land was shown.
The company's Semicon Equipment Manufacturing project in collaboration with Applied Materials aims to establish a production unit for semiconductor manufacturing equipment. The location for this project is likely to be finalized at the Haraluru Muddenahalli - Hi-Tech Aerospace and Defence Park-Phase II in Bengaluru Rural district, where Foxconn has sought a 35-acre plot.
Young Liu was in India to attend Semicon India 2023 in Gandhinagar, Gujarat, and subsequently visited Chennai on Monday.
Dr E V Ramana Reddy, Additional Chief Secretary to the Department of Electronics Information Technology Biotechnology and Science and Technology, and Gunjan Krishna, Commissioner for Industrial Development, Department of Industries & Commerce, were present.