The Tata Group‘s investment for the fab manufacturing in Gujarat will be “very big” and a Cabinet note seeking approvals for the project will be moved “very soon”, Union Minister for Electronics and Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Thursday. Speaking at the biennial Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit here, Vaishnaw said the Tatas’ proposed investment is important because it will be serving a wider spectrum of opportunities, right from fab to OSAT (Outsourced Semiconductor Assembly and Test).
Vaishnaw said the fab proposed in Dhooera will be a semiconductor chips manufacturing factory, which will be a “very big investment”.
“Already there is a lot of good progress on it. Very soon, we will take it to the Cabinet and construction will begin after that,” Vaishnaw told reporters.
The Union Cabinet will have to grant approval for the project, he added.
The Union minister also said the Tata Group will tie up with a technical partner to set up the project, but declined to share the name of partner or details of the investment such a bet entails.
Speaking at the tenth edition of the Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit here, Tata Sons chairman N Chandrasekaran had announced that the group intends to build a “huge semiconductor fab” at Dholera, and the salt to software group is in the final stages of negotiations before the project gets started in 2024.
“The Tata Group has also made a commitment, and is on the verge of concluding and announcing a huge semiconductor fab in Dholera, and we are about to complete these negotiations and start in 2024,” Chandrasekaran had said.
Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Vaishnaw said a semiconductor fab is a foundational industry, which will have a multiplier impact.
Meanwhile, he said Korean company Simmtech, which is also associated with the semiconductor industry, has signed up for putting up a Rs 1,250 crore, a fourth of which will come from the government under a capital subsidy scheme.
Gujarat has given a 30-acre land parcel for the Simmtech factory to come up in Sanand, he said.
The government has tied up with powerhouses in the semiconductor sector, including the US, Japan, and the European Union to deepen the industry in India.
He said the industry requires clean energy, sufficient water and stable electricity supply before it moves in.
Vaishnaw, who also handles the railways portfolio, said over 270 km of viaduct for high speed railway between Ahmedabad and Mumbai have been completed.
A small part of the line between Surat and Bilimora in Gujarat will be operational by 2026, he said.
After the difficulties in getting clearances and land in Maharashtra, the going has been smoother for the project since the Eknath Shinde-led government took charge, Vaishnaw said.
The cost of the Ahmedabad-Mumbai ticket will be “very affordable”, he said, without sharing the target for opening up the entire stretch.
When asked about the Mumbai-Pune hyperloop project, Vaishnaw said the technology is not mature enough and added that a team from IIT Madras is also working on it.
