The only assembly and testing plant of Intel in the Western Hemisphere is being established in the Central American country
In August, the inauguration of the expansion of Intel’s only assembly and testing plant in the West was held in Costa Rica. Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger missed the ceremony to make it to President Biden’s announcement of the Chip Act.
In recent years, Intel has been trying to balance the weight of its operations in Asia, while the Biden administration is promoting local semiconductor production as a key component of the US economy and security in the context of tensions with China, in a battle of technology giants that has placed Costa Rica, located only a three-hour flight from Miami, in a position winner.
Intel established the facility in Costa Rica in 1997, but in 2015 transferred most of its activity in the field to Asia, thereby reducing an activity that accounted for 20% of Costa Rica’s exports, the plant was restarted again in 2020 with an announced investment of $350 million that eventually increased to $1 billion, including a 60% increase in workforce to nearly 4,000 employees by 2022 with plans for future expansion. said Timothy Scott, Intel’s director of government relations in Costa Rica in an interview with El Pais.
“Although the law that Biden signed is specifically focused on the United States, due to the geographic proximity and existing capabilities, it may create a widespread wave,” Scott explained, acknowledging the fact that Costa Rica is already home to global research and service centers and this may give an advantage to the country’s economy.
As we know, Intel is expanding its operations in the US – and in particular it will build a mega factory in Ohio and soon in other states in the US as a result of the chip law. According to Scott, these chips will have to be transported for assembly and Costa Rica is the closest assembly facility to the US.
The news comes after last week the US government announced a ban on the export to China of various types of chips intended for the production of weapons and supercomputers.