The site chosen for the new plant, in New Albany, a suburb east of Columbus, is in an area known for inexpensive land and housing. Nearby Ohio State University is a major source of graduates with engineering degrees whom Intel could recruit. Columbus is also centrally located for receiving supplies and for shipping finished chips.
Construction of the first two factories is expected to begin this year with production to start by 2025, Intel said. The site, which Mr. Gelsinger called a catalyst for a new “Silicon Heartland,” is more than 1,000 acres and is expected to be the largest economic development project in Ohio’s history.
Mike DeWine, Ohio’s governor, called the Intel choice a “transformative” event for the state, the result of a process that began in May and ended when the company informed officials of its decision on Christmas.
“There were 40 states competing to get these plants — and we won,” he said during an event on Friday near the future Intel campus.
Mr. Gelsinger, a 30-year Intel veteran who became chief of the software maker VMware in 2012, returned to the chip maker last year to become chief executive as the semiconductor shortage began hobbling carmakers and other companies.
The shortage was partly rooted in the pandemic, but another long-term factor was the shifting of chip manufacturing to Asian countries that offer subsidies to companies that build factories there. The United States accounts for about 12 percent of global chip production, down from 37 percent in 1990. Europe’s share has declined to 9 percent from 40 percent over that period.
Many of the most advanced chips come from Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, whose proximity to China has worried Pentagon officials.