Micron Targets Early-2025 Rollout From Sanand Assembly Plant

US chipmaker Micron Technology says that it will begin churning out chips from its upcoming assembly, testing, marking and packaging (ATMP) facility located in Sanand, Gujarat, during the first half of 2025.

“We expect to have products rollout early next year, in the first half, which is a very good turnaround given that we had announced this whole engagement in the middle of last year," said Micron India's managing director Anand Ramamoorthy in interaction with Mint.

Semiconductor assembly and testing is a critical part of the semiconductor value chain where wafers manufactured by semiconductor fabs are assembled or packaged and then tested before they are finally used in the desired product.

Micron’s new facility will focus on transforming wafers into ball grid array (BGA) integrated circuit packages, memory modules and solid-state drives.

Furthermore, from day one, the chip output will be geared towards the export market. Ramamoorthy emphasised, "No factory in India will ever be built for India only. It will be a small part, and the bulk of it will be for exports, and that's actually a good thing because we want our factories to be globally viable."

On 22 June 2023, the union cabinet had approved the proposal of Micron for setting up a semiconductor assembly and test facility in India with a capital investment of Rs 22,516 crore (2.75 billion dollars), providing 50 per cent fiscal support on a pari-passu basis.

The groundbreaking ceremony for the facility's first phase in Sanand, Gujarat, took place merely three months after the approval, in September 2023.

Under the first phase of development, a 500,000-square-foot facility will become operational by early 2025. Micron said it will build a facility of similar size in the second phase, which will start toward "the second half of the decade."

The top American chipmaker's plant has been approved under the central government's "Modified Assembly, Testing, Marking and Packaging (ATMP) Scheme."

Under the scheme, Micron will receive 50 per cent fiscal support for the total project cost from the centre and incentives representing 20 per cent of the total cost from the Gujarat government. The combined investment from Micron and the two government entities is slated to reach up to $2.75 billion across both phases.

Ramamoorthy affirmed that the project is anticipated to generate 5,000 direct job opportunities and an additional 15,000 indirect employment opportunities over the next four to five years. Micron currently employs just over 4,000 individuals in its Hyderabad and Bengaluru centres, primarily focused on research and development endeavors.