Intel executives confirmed Tuesday that the company would invest some $5 billion in expanding production at its Kiryat Gat chip plant, the Economy Ministry said in a statement.
The ministry said that Intel Israel’s general manager Yaniv Garty and Kiryat Gat plant manager Daniel Ben Atar presented plans to Economy Minister Eli Cohen, Chief Scientist Ami Appelbaum and Investment Promotion Center director Nahum Itzkovich Tuesday morning, and told them that the investment would commence by the end of this year and be completed by 2020.
“Intel’s decision to continue to to invest significant sums in Israel is a vote of confidence in the Israeli economy,” Cohen said. “Intel’s operations in Israel in research and development and in advanced manufacturing are in line with the ministry’s policy of expanding exports and creating quality employment.”
The ministry said that Intel is expected to make a formal request today for investment grants for the project and added that a committee composed of the directors of the finance and economy ministry and the director general of the Tax Authority would convene next month to approve the grants.
While the ministry statement did not note the size of the expected grant, media reports in the financial press claimed that it could reach as much as $400 million. In 2014, Intel received a grant worth $300 million for a $6 billion investment in the plant.
Intel acquired Mobileye, a Jerusalem-based developer of advanced vision and driver assistance systems, for $15.3 billion last year.