The Indian state government announced Thursday that Apple supplier Foxconn will begin producing iPhones at its Devanahalli plant in rural Bangalore, Karnataka, in southern India by April 2024.
According to the statement, Foxconn plans to complete the construction of the Devanahalli plant in three phases, with an annual production capacity of 20 million phones (20 million units) after the completion of the three phases.
The company has already paid 30% of the land cost (900 million rupees, currently about RMB 77.31 million) to the Karnataka Industrial Area Development Board (KIADB). The government has decided to expedite the Rs 136 billion project, which aims to provide employment to 50,000 people,” said MB Patil, Karnataka’s heavy industries minister.
In fact, it was announced long ago that Hon Hai Precision Industry (Foxconn) would start construction of a new assembly plant in Bangalore dedicated to iPhone assembly and has already vacated 300 acres of land for the plant (located in the ITIA industrial area near Bangalore International Airport).
Bloomberg reported earlier that Foxconn Technology Group plans to invest about $700 million in the Karnataka plant (currently about RMB 4.977 billion). The state’s investment promotion department tweeted that the move would create 100,000 jobs over the next 10 years.
It’s worth noting that Apple began assembling iPhones in India in 2017 through Wistron and Foxconn. currently, at least three of Apple’s global suppliers assemble iPhones in India – Foxconn and PEGATRON in Tamil Nadu, and Wistron in Karnataka.
In January, India’s trade minister said Apple wants India to account for 25% of its production, up from the current 5-7%.
