Nov 18 (Reuters) - City officials in Phoenix, Arizona on
Wednesday unanimously voted to authorize a development agreement
with chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co
that would provide $205 million in city funds for infrastructure
such as roads and water improvements for a planned $12 billion
semiconductor factory in the city.
TSMC is the world's biggest contract chipmaker and
manufactures semiconductors for Apple Inc, Qualcomm Inc
and a range of other technology companies. The company
in May disclosed its intentions to build a 5-nanometer chip
factory in Arizona, which would be its first advanced
manufacturing facility in the United States. Earlier this month
it approved an investment to set up a wholly owned subsidiary in
the U.S. state with paid-in capital of $3.5 billion.
The Phoenix City Council voted to allow the city to enter
the agreement by a vote of 9-0. Ahead of the vote, Phoenix Mayor
Kate Gallego called the agreement "a great success across so
many levels of government in helping Arizona become a leader in
advanced manufacturing."
Under the agreement, TSMC will build a new factory and
create 1,900 new full-time jobs to be phased in over a five-year
period. Construction would start in early 2021, with factory
production expected in 2024.
In return, the city will build three miles of streets for
$61 million, spend $37 million on water infrastructure
improvements and $107 million in wastewater improvements. The
company will enter a formal deal with the city after selecting a
site, which is expected before the end of the year.
Based in Hsinchu, Taiwan, TSMC has said it also hopes for
U.S. federal subsidies to help cover the extra cost of building
chips in the United States. Most of the world's advanced
semiconductors are manufactured in Taiwan, including those used
in U.S. military equipment, which has become a cause for concern
as tensions increase between the United States and China.
American lawmakers in June proposed billions of dollars in
subsides to help bolster advanced semiconductor manufacturing in
the United States. Those funds could benefit both TSMC as well
as U.S. firms such as Intel Corp and Micron Technology
Inc.
(Reporting by Stephen Nellis in San Francisco; editing by Diane
Craft and David Gregorio)