Reston, Virginia-based contractor Bechtel announced Monday that it has been selected to complete Phase 1 of a $20 billion Intel semiconductor facility in Licking County, Ohio. The Intel Ohio project, which consists of two semiconductor facilities, broke ground in September with excavation work.
Bechtel’s contract value was not revealed, and the company did not respond to emailed inquiry regarding the contract by publication time.
Intel announced the Ohio Project in January, a big bet on the future of U.S. semiconductor manufacturing. The facility will spread over nearly 1,000 acres and can eventually contain up to eight semiconductor factories. Production will start in 2025, Intel said.
The project is Intel’s largest construction project to date, said Jackie Sturm, Intel’s corporate vice president of global supply chain operations, in the announcement.
Bechtel’s involvement in Phase 1 will entail designing and building a total of 2.5 million square feet of facility. This includes 600,000 square feet of cleanrooms, highly monitored rooms that control for outside forces such as dust, temperature and more, which can disrupt or ruin semiconductors during the manufacturing process.
Bechtel will partner with the North American Building Trades Unions and suppliers to create new construction jobs, and work with local education organizations to implement training programs, according to the release.
In the release, Bechtel praised the passage of both the $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and the $52 billion CHIPS Act. Previously, Intel delayed the Ohio facility’s groundbreaking to pressure lawmakers into passing the bill.
“We are honored to be chosen by Intel as its partner and we are ready to build their most advanced semiconductor facilities in the world,” said Catherine Hunt Ryan, president of Bechtel’s manufacturing and technology business.
