US chipmaker Intel has confirmed plans to invest $2.7 billion in its southern Israel facility in order to produce 22-nanometer technology for semiconductors.
The two-year investment plan in the Kiryat Gat factory includes a $210 million grant recently approved by the Israeli government.
The investment will make the Kiryat Gat plant the second of Intel's properties to be fully ready for 22nm production. The new venture will also boost the facility's workforce, opening approximately 1,000 jobs over the coming year.
"We are already in preparation for hiring," Maxine Fassberg, general manager of Intel Israel, told a news conference. "We are scheduled to start production in December."
Intel currently employs 7,057 people in Israel. The company is one of Israel's largest private-sector employers.
Intel has received $1.2 billion in grants from the Israeli government since it began manufacturing in the country 25 years ago, according to Fassberg. Before this year, it invested $7.3 billion in Israel.
Meanwhile, technology blogs are announcing that if Intel's 22nm production starts in December 2011 as planned, the first 22nm chips could be ready in early 2012.