BENGALURU: iPhone maker Foxconn has plans to start manufacturing at its proposed plant at Devanahalli, on the outskirts of Bengaluru, by April 2024, and the state government will hand over the land to the firm by July 1, Industries Minister MB Patil said here on Thursday.
“The identified 300 acres of land at Information Technology Investment Region (ITIR) of Devanahalli would be handed over by July 1. Along with this, the government would ensure providing 5MLD of water, quality power supply, road connectivity and other infrastructure facilities,” Patil told reporters, after the Foxconn delegation led by George Chu met him in Bengaluru.
The minister said they have asked the company to provide details of the skill sets it seeks in employees, and steps will be taken to facilitate training programmes for eligible candidates to make them employable. The new government has speeded up the process of the Rs 13,600-crore project, which is expected to create 50,000 jobs, he said.
The Taiwan-based global company has already paid 30 per cent of the land cost (Rs 90 crore) to KIADB. It has set the goal to complete the project in three phases, and a manufacturing target of 20 million units (2 crore units) annually at the plant, after the completion of three phases, said a statement issued by the Industries Minister’s office on Thursday.
The company had signed a ‘Letter of Intent’ with the government earlier this year, when Young Liu, chairman, Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. Ltd (Foxconn Technology Group) was in Bengaluru to meet then chief minister Basavaraj Bommai and senior officers. The Letter of Intent was signed in Liu’s presence to set up a manufacturing facility on 300 acres at ITIR industrial area in Doddaballapur and Devanahalli taluks, within a period of five years (2023-2027). They had called it ‘Project Elephant’. The BJP government had claimed that Apple phones are to be built in the state soon and create about 1 lakh jobs.
IT/BT Minister Priyank Kharge, IT department Additional Chief Secretary Dr EV Ramana Reddy, Commerce and Industries Principal Secretary S Selva Kumar, and Commerce and Industries Commissioner Gunjan Krishna were also present.
Huge boost for Karnataka with Foxconn’s Project Elephant. They will set up an iPhone assembly plant with an investment of $1.7 Bn & will generate 50,000 jobs. The proposed annual capacity up to 20 million smartphone units per annum.
—Priyank Kharge on Twitter