Intel goes for planning permission in Ireland
 

Chipzilla is asking planning permission from Kildare County Council for a 162,000sq m new plant at Leixlip, site of a former stud farm, near Dublin.

According to the Irish Times, the move confirms rumours that Ireland will be one of the sites it has chosen to produce its next generation of microprocessors.

It is unlikely that the local council will say no to the plans which have been bolstered with a lot of government cash and will provide a shot in the arm to the local economy.

The plans allow for a plant which has at least 1,000 jobs, and is likely to bring a construction boom in the area.

Intel chief executive Paul Otellini said the group had chosen its existing facility at Leixlip as one of three locations where it would manufacture its next generation of computer chips.

Intel already hires 4,000 people in Ireland and is the Republic's biggest private sector employer.

The plans reveal that the plant will be the same size as those inPortland, Oregon, and Arizona and will costs several billion euro.

The Times points out that the construction will call for considerable expertise in mechanics and electrical engineering.

Part of the problem is that a number of production facilities at Leixlip were mothballed and the US company had its first compulsory layoffs in 2009.

http://news.techeye.net/chips/intel-...ion-in-ireland