Karnataka   

Kumaraswamy vows to clinch Fab project deal

Staff Reporter

BANGALORE: Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy said here on Friday that he will persuade SemIndia president Vinod K. Mehta to set up the $ 3-billion Fab City project in Karnataka.

Mr. Kumaraswamy's statement comes a day after the Telecommunication and Information Technology Minister Dayanidhi Maran announced that the country's first foray into chip manufacturing will happen in Hyderabad.

The Chief Minister denied that the State Government had been slack in pursuing the project. "I feel SemIndia will reconsider its decision. Such things are known to happen, and I will be visiting New Delhi on Monday with officials to persuade Mr. Agarwal", he said.

"The former Chief Minister N. Dharam Singh wrote to the Centre a couple of times indicating that the Government is going all out to bring the project to Karnataka," Mr. Kumaraswamy said.

Since SemIndia began scouting for location during mid-2005, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu were vying with one another to woo the project promoters. The reason: India's first semi-conductor wafer fabrication or "fab" plant, with dual core microprocessor technology with an investment of $ 3 billion, along with an assembly, test and mark parking (ATMP) facility will translate into 36 lakh jobs by 2015.

SemIndia had been enthusiastic about locating the project on 1,500 acres in Thandya near Nanjangud. Ample quality water from the Kabini reservoir is available, and the Government is ready to make provisions for water treatment as required at the facility.

The only point awaiting finalisation is the rate at which power will be supplied. Andhra Pradesh has offered power at Rs. 2.25 a unit.

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