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Complying with the original stipulations set-out by New York State for being eligible for US$1.2 billion worth of financial incentives, Globalfoundries has started construction of Fab 2 at the Luther Forest Technology Campus in Saratoga County, New York. The incentives, originally attributed to AMD would have required renegotiation if the US$4.2 billion project had not started in July, 2009.

“New York has worked with GLOBALFOUNDRIES for three years to bring this project to fruition and I am pleased to say that with the groundbreaking of Fab 2, New York and GLOBALFOUNDRIES take a lead role in delivering the type of economic growth needed to carry our nation toward sustainable growth,” said Governor David Paterson of New York. “This initiative not only provides our residents with a source for new jobs, but is integral in positioning New York as a future hub of innovation and an attractive destination for additional investment.”

The construction of the revised 35,000wspm (300mm wafer) facility will now take 2-years to complete. Typically, a fab of this size would take only 10-12 months using fast track construction techniques and project management, however Globalfoundries does not expect to require production capacity at the facility until 2012, enabling it to build at a slower pace and reduce costs in the process.

Design changes have also been made to recognise the different production requirements of the foundry business model compared to the original captive MPU and GPU needs of AMD.

Initial production is expected to ramp at the 28nm technology node, which would be a ‘mature’ node in 2012, reducing ramp-up risk for customers. As soon as this is completed, Globalfoundries said it would move to volume manufacturing at the 22nm node.

“With the development of Fab 2, we’ll take the first steps in realizing our vision to harness resources and talent on a worldwide basis to enable our customers product innovation to come to market faster and on the most advanced technology platforms,” said Doug Grose, chief executive officer of GLOBALFOUNDRIES. “Combined with our facility in Dresden, this fab will provide customers access to a truly global foundry, offering scale, operational excellence and leading-edge manufacturing capabilities.”

M+W Zander is project managing the Fab 2 construction, while AMA Group is the architect. Both companies have been involved in AMD’s previous fab constructions over the years.