Foxconn-Vedanta to open India’s first semiconductor facility at Dholera

A joint venture between Indian conglomerate Vedanta and electronics manufacturing giant Foxconn has finalized the Dholera Special Investment Region near Gujarat’s Ahmedabad city, a senior state government official said on Monday.

In the biggest ever corporate investment in the history of independent India, a joint venture between Vedanta and Foxconn In September last year, it signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Gujarat government to invest Rs. 1,54,000 crore to set up the plant in the state. This will be the first manufacturing facility for semiconductor in India.

At the time, the JV company did not disclose the exact location of the facility.

“After a detailed site analysis in consultation with Gujarat government officials, the joint venture unit of Vedanta and Foxconn has selected the Dholera SIR for setting up its semiconductor and Show manufacturing facility. The project is in the advanced stage of evaluation by the Government of India,” the official said.

The MoU was signed in September last year in Gandhinagar in the presence of Minister of Railways, Communications, Electronics and Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnav.

Both the companies will invest Rs. 1,54,000 crore to set up the facility in Gujarat, which would create one lakh job opportunities, Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel had said on the occasion. Patel had also said that his government would provide cooperation to set up the facility and make it a success.

Notably, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while addressing an election rally in Bhavnagar in November ahead of the assembly elections, had given a clear indication that the mega semiconductor plant would be set up at Dholera SIR, about 100 km from Ahmedabad.

The project is likely to get huge subsidies and incentives, such as zero stamp duty on land purchase and subsidized water and electricity, under the ‘Gujarat Semiconductor Policy 2022-27’ announced by the state government in July last year.

A government official had earlier said that Gujarat has become the first state in the country to have such a dedicated policy for the semiconductor and display fabrication sector.

Under this policy, eligible projects will be given 75 percent subsidy on the purchase of first 200 acres of land for setting up a manufacturing unit. Good quality water will be provided to the eligible projects at the rate of Rs. 12 per cubic meter for the first five years.

To encourage investors under the policy, the state government has also announced 100 per cent reimbursement of stamp duty, which investors will pay for taking land on lease, sale or transfer of land for the first time.