Mario Draghi’s outgoing government and Intel have chosen the city of Vigasio in the northeastern Veneto region as their preferred site for a new multibillion-euro chip factory in Italy, two people familiar with the matter said.
Intel’s investment in Italy is part of a broader plan announced by the US chipmaker last March to invest 80 billion euros (about Rs 6,27,930 crore) in capacity building across Europe over the next decade.
With the initial investment expected to grow to around 4.5 billion euros (about Rs 35,340 crore) over time, Intel has said the Italian plant will create 1,500 jobs as well as an additional 3,500 jobs in suppliers and partners, which will be operational by 2025. and will start between 2027. ,
The Italian factory will be an advanced semiconductor packaging and assembly plant, using new technologies to woven together complete chips from tiles.
On condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter, sources said the parties had reached a comprehensive agreement in early September, but no public announcement would be made before the results of Sunday’s general election.
An Intel spokesperson did not comment because talks are ongoing and are confidential. Draghi’s office also declined to comment.
Strategically located near Verona on the Brenner Motorway and Railway, Vigasio is the preferred choice from a shortlist of two sites, including one in the north-western Piedmont region.
For other reasons, the site is well connected with Germany, and in particular the city of Magdeburg, where Intel will build two factories, one of the sources added.
Intel and the government initially considered sites in the Lombardy, Apulia and Sicily regions.
Draghi’s close aides aim to enter into behind-the-scenes talks with his potential successors to avoid any risk of the deal being challenged by Italy’s new government, the people said, the site. The option for is highly politically sensitive.
Opinion polls have predicted that Giorgia Meloni’s nationalist Brothers of Italy group will emerge as the leading party on Sunday and share power with its ally League, led by Matteo Salvini and Silvio Berlusconi’s Forza Italia.
Sources declined to provide more details, but Reuters has previously reported that Rome is set to fund up to 40 percent of Intel’s total investments in Italy.
The state’s contribution to Intel’s investment program is something that should be shared with the next government before any deal is formalized, one of the sources said, adding Draghi could announce the next government.
To boost domestic chipmaking, Rome is also in talks with French-Italian STMicroelectronics, Taiwanese chipmakers MEMC Electronic Materials Inc. and TSMC, and Israeli Tower Semiconductor, which Intel bought earlier this year.
© Thomson Reuters 2022
