Migdal Haemek, Israel–Tower Semiconductor today announced the signing of an agreement with two major Israeli banks–Bank Leumi and Bank Hapoalim–to secure $550 million of the needed credit line total for the construction of its new fab, known as Fab 2. With this agreement, Tower has secured the $1.1 billion needed to finance the construction. The company now plans to break ground on its 200mm facility on January 31.
“This agreement completes the last component of the initial financial package. The banks’ commitment emphasizes the national importance of the project, and the confidence of the Israeli financial community in the company,” says Dr. Yoav Nissan-Cohen, Tower’s co-chief executive officer.
Tower’s new fab is expected to employ approximately 1,000, and produce up to 33,000 200mm wafers per month in geometries of 0.18-micron and below using advanced CMOS technology from Toshiba.