Intel Confirms Construction Of $25B Chip Plant In Southern Israel

US semiconductor giant Intel has officially confirmed it is building a $25 billion chip plant in southern Israel, the largest investment ever by a foreign company in the country.

The Israeli government, which announced the planned construction in June, has also awarded the company a $3.2 billion grant for the plant in Kiryat Gat.

The new plant will be an expansion of an existing Intel site that is just 42 kilometers (26 miles) away from the Gaza Strip, which was controlled by the Hamas terror group.

The new factory will produce wafers, or thin circular semiconductor slices, which will then be placed into microelectronic devices. The plant is expected to begin operating in 2028, creating thousands of new jobs for Israeli workers.

The chipmaker also committed to buy 60 billion shekels ($16.6 billion) worth of goods and services from Israeli suppliers over the next decade.

The construction of the plant is seen as a big show of support by a major US company at a time when Israel has been at war with Hamas for nearly three months. War broke out after some Hamas 3,000 terrorists stormed into Israel from Gaza on October 7, killing more than 1,200 people and kidnapping hundreds more.

Intel first established a presence in Israel in 1974 and now operates four development and production sites, including its manufacturing plant in Kiryat Gat. It currently employs 12,000 people in the country and indirectly employs another 42,000.

“The expansion plan for the Kiryat Gat site is an important part of Intel’s efforts to foster a more resilient global supply chain, alongside the company’s ongoing and planned manufacturing investments in Europe and the United States,” Intel said in a statement.