Abu Dhabi government-owned Advanced Technology Investment Co (ATIC) will spend as much as $7 billion to build a chip manufacturing plant in the emirate, the Wall Street Journal reported citing an interview with its chief executive officer.   

Ibrahim Ajami said the new facility will ramp up its production between 2014 and 2015. The plant would be a 12-inch wafer fabrication facility, the industry's most advanced.

The new plant would be the first chip manufacturing facility in the United Arab Emirates.   

Ajami also said  ATIC is open to acquisitions beyond the contract chip manufacturing business to strengthen its position in the semiconductor business.   

The Abu Dhabi-based company bought Singapore's Chartered Semiconductor for $1.8 billion last year and has a joint venture investment in semiconductor manufacturing company Global Foundries with Advanced Micro Devices. - Reuters