Fab 28_intel_photo.jpg

Intel's Fab 28 in Kiryat Gat.

(Intel photo)

Reports from Israel over the weekend suggest Intel might spend $3 billion to $4 billion on a new chip factory in Kiryat Gat, if it can secure a large subsidy from the Israeli government.

Micron is planning to shut down a factory -- a fab, in the industry's lingo -- it leases from Intel, and Intel is apparently planning to either overhaul that fab or build an entirely new one, according to reports

and the business publication

.

To win the investment, the publications say Intel wants Israel to pay 10 percent of the cost, $300 million to $400 million. If Intel proceeds, Haaretz writes that the project could boost the company's employment in Kiryat Gat by 3,000 employees.

Two years ago, Intel chose to expand in Ireland instead of Israel. Haaretz said Ireland and Israel are in competition for the new project, too.

Intel makes most of its chips in the U.S., at factories in Hillsboro, Arizona and New Mexico. It's currently in the late stages of building new fabs in Arizona and in Hillsboro, where the company engineers its new manufacturing technology.

Work has begun on

, D1X, where Intel will pioneer production on larger, more efficient 450-millimeter silicon wafers. That new phase will be a prototype for new and upgraded Intel fabs around the world.

-- Mike Rogoway; twitter: @rogoway; phone: 503-294-7699