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Japan’s Tokyo Electron Ltd (TEL) and Taiwan’s PSMC, both of which are partners in the upcoming fab in Dholera, are said to be among those considering exclusive housing facilities for their expat employees.
“We see interest from Japanese and Taiwanese companies to set up housing corridors for their employees in Dholera,” a senior Gujarat government official said. “This will be mainly for Taiwanese employees from PSMC and their suppliers as well as the large consortium of Japanese companies that are going to be working in the region for the Tata fab.”
As part of the master plan for Dholera, land has been specifically allocated for the purpose of housing and recreation for expat employees who will be working in the region, this person said.
“This will be apart from the housing that is being constructed by the Tata Group and the Global Tent City that the government is building to make expats feel at home,” this person added. “The idea behind these private facilities could be to have exclusive townships within Dholera that will be likely to cater to the needs of the expats from those countries. We already have several Japanese townships in Gujarat in other manufacturing hubs.”
TEL leading drive
Semiconductor production equipment maker TEL is among the Japanese firms driving the initiative. It struck a partnership with Tata Electronics in September last year to accelerate semiconductor equipment infrastructure for the fab in Dholera as well as the upcoming assembly and test facility in Jagiroad, Assam, being set up by the Indian company.
The companies will focus on training Tata Electronics workforce on TEL equipment and supporting ongoing improvement and R&D initiatives.
TEL executive vice president and general manager Takeshi Okubo told ET that the company was pondering a plan to join other Japanese companies working on the Dholera plant to build a private housing facility.
“We are looking into how we can make this happen for the benefit of our employees,” he said. “This is something that we have not done in other countries but feel it is important in Dholera’s context because locations like South Korea, Taiwan and Singapore already have many established fabs. Dholera is completely different.”
It could also help expats feel at home in a dry state where the diet is largely vegetarian. Dholera is about 100 km from Ahmedabad and 600 km from Mumbai.
The companies are looking forward to India’s first bullet trains running by December 2029 on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High-Speed Rail (MAHSR) corridor that’s under construction.
“We are also hopeful that PM Modi in his visit to Japan showed that he was interested in constructing a Shinkansen (bullet train) between Ahmedabad and Mumbai,” Okubo said. “Once that’s operational, that would be good. It will be an opportunity for employees to enjoy Mumbai. But all this will take time.”
Plan to attract
These plans are being viewed as positives that could help attract and retain expat talent in Dholera, executives said. Even companies like American engineering services provider Jacobs Solutions, which is working on the fab in Dholera, are assessing options. The company, which is no stranger to working on projects in remote areas, is looking at ways that it can make life more comfortable for employees.
“With semiconductors in India, maybe it is an early story, but there’s possibly an avenue to build out some infrastructure for the workforce there,” said Jacobs executive vice president Koti Vadlamudi.
The company is evaluating options, said Sinead Giblin, general manager and senior vice president Asia, people and places solutions APACME at Jacobs.
“We would sort of piggyback off a partner who is doing it,” she said. “We’re looking at options but it is a bit challenging because of the remoteness.”
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