2010-03-26 14:36

DALIAN: The chip factory of US computer chip giant Intel Corp in China's coastal city Dalian will be put into operation in the fourth quarter of this year, said the general manager of the plant Thursday.

The plant in Dalian was Intel's first chip plant in Asia and had received more investment amid the global downturn. It would begin production in the 44th week of 2010, said Kirby Jefferson, the general manager of the plant.

An investment of $2.5 billion, the plant is built in the Dalian Economic and Technological Development Zone in Northeast China's Liaoning province, covering 160,000 square meters.

The plant had been equipped with the most advanced facilities and would employ more than 1,500 people, 60 percent of whom would be locals, Jefferson said.

The project was announced in March in 2007. As Intel's first chipset factory in Asia, it is part of its network of eight such facilities worldwide.