- Foxconn will invest up to $1 billion in a new electronics manufacturing facility in Bengaluru
- The project, called Project Elephant, would come up on a 300-acre plot near the Bengaluru international airport
- Foxconn chairman Young Liu wrote that he would ensure the successful grounding of Project Elephant in Bengaluru.
After injecting $500 million into its Indian subsidiary, Taiwanese contract manufacturer Foxconn Group has now entered into an agreement with the state government of Karnataka to set up an electronics manufacturing and assembly unit on the outskirts of Bengaluru.
The company will reportedly invest up to $1 billion in the proposed manufacturing unit and make iPhones for Apple. On Friday, the Karnataka government announced that the plant would come up on a 300-acre plot near the Bengaluru international airport and would generate 100,000 jobs over the next 10 years.
The announcement comes after the Telangana government said Foxconn plans to set up a manufacturing facility in the state that can potentially employ over 100,000 people over 10 years.
The announcement led to a huge confusion over the weekend as Foxconn reacted to the Karnataka government’s statement saying that Friday’s agreement was not “definitive” in nature. In a two-page letter to Karnataka chief minister Basavaraj Bommai, Foxconn chairman Young Liu said he would “ensure successful grounding of the Project Elephant in Bengaluru,” seeking to clear any air of confusion created by the company’s earlier statement.
“As discussed with you during our meeting on March 2, Foxconn is committed to setting up a manufacturing facility in Kongara Kalan and I seek the support of your team in operationalising the Kongara Kalan Park as early as possible,” read Liu’s letter to Rao.
Besides iPhones and components for Apple’s smartphone, Foxconn would also manufacture other electronic items and electric vehicle parts at the proposed plant. The company already manufactures iPhones in India, with facilities in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.
Foxconn (Hon Hai Precision Industry) is a Taiwanese multinational electronics contract manufacturer. Notable products made by Foxconn list the BlackBerry, iPad, iPhone, iPod, Kindle, Nokia devices, PlayStation 4, Wii U, and Xbox One.
