In June 2023 Intel announced that it had selected “greenfield” area in Miękinia near Wrocław for construction of cutting-edge semiconductor assembly and test plant, in which it intends to invest up to $4.6 billion. Production is scheduled to start by the end of 2028 and create over 2,000 jobs. In November 2023 the previous Polish government adopted the programme “National Framework of Support to Strategic Semiconductor Investments” and assigned $ 1.5 billion to this task. On 1 August 2024 the construction site in Miękinia was handed-over to the contractor Budimex S.A and works on 50 ha of land started. The plant will be constructed according to “green” principles minimizing its environmental impact.
This is the biggest foreign investment in Poland at present. Combined with Intel’s existing wafer fabrication facility in Ireland and the planned facility in Magdeburg expected to cost € 30b, the Polish investment will help Intel to create the first complete semiconductor manufacturing value chain in Europe. The Polish plant will be of key importance as it will deliver Intel’s final products. Wafer fabrication facilities (also known as “fabs”) create chips on silicon wafers through advanced processes. Assembly and test facilities, such as the one planned near Wrocław, cut wafers into individual chips, assemble them and test for performance and quality. The finished chips are then shipped to customers.
Poland was chosen thanks to good infrastructure, strong talent base, excellent business environment and reliable workforce, all proven in Intel’s 30 years of operation in Poland with nearly 4,000 workers and significant R&D operations in Gdańsk, the company’s largest R&D facility in Europe. Presently Intel employs over 121,000 people worldwide, including 10,000 in the European Union. Recent global disruptions in semiconductors markets showed the need to build a resilient supply chain. After having abandoned its plans to invest € 5b in production facilities in France and Italy, now Intel focuses on Germany and Poland.
