K’taka govt, Foxconn sign Letter of Intent for two more projects worth Rs 5,000 crore

BENGALURU: Large and Medium Industries Minister M B Patil on Wednesday said that the state 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 which will generate 13,000 jobs.

These projects are in addition to the iPhone end assembly plant which the Taiwanese company has planned to set up at Devanahalli ITIR with an investment of about Rs 14,000 crore.

Giving details about the signing formalities that took place at a private hotel in Chennai on Monday, Patil stated that Foxconn chairman Young Liu and state IT/BT minister Priyank Kharge were present on the occasion.

According to Patil, the intended projects include a phone enclosure project for which FII (Foxcon Industrial Internet), a Foxconn subsidiary, will invest Rs 3,000 crore ($350 mn) that is estimated to create 12,000 job opportunities. The other project is the Semicon equipment project wherein Foxconn will invest Rs 2,000 crore ($250 mn) to take up a project in collaboration with Applied Materials that is likely to generate 1,000 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 sub-assembly components for smartphones, specifically mechanical enclosures of iPhones. About this, FII is currently evaluating suitable land parcels in and around Bengaluru, a press release said.

It is to be noted here that the FII leadership team had met and held discussions with Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Ministers M B Patil and Priyank Kharge a few weeks ago in Bengaluru regarding the above project. Following the discussion, the company team was taken to the Japan Industrial Township in Tumakuru on the same day where an 100-acre parcel of land was shown.

The Semicon equipment manufacturing project, in collaboration with Applied Materials, is to establish a production unit for semiconductor manufacturing equipment. The location for this project is likely to be finalised at the Haraluru Muddenahalli — Hi-Tech Aerospace and Defence Park-Phase II in Bengaluru Rural district, where Foxconn has sought a 35-acre plot.

Foxconn chief Young Liu was in India to attend the SemiconIndia 2023 conference 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 & Technology, and Gunjan Krishna, Commissioner for Industrial Development, Department of Industries & Commerce, were present.