Communicant declares bankruptcy
The company was set up to commercialise silicon germanium and LDMOS technology and create a new foundry business model for mixed-signal devices. Much of the exclusive technology was created at the IHP microelectronics development centre across the road from the new fab site, near Franfurt (Oder).
Money for the project came from German federal and local governments, Intel and the Dubai Airport Free Zone Authority (DAFZA). Work on the shell for the facility was nearly complete and an access ramp to the neighbouring autobahn was to have been completed in December 2003.
Negotiations with Intel and DAFZA enabled salary payments for November to be made to the 70 workers and 130 apprentices employed for the project.
CEO Professor Abbas Ourmazd had hoped up to the middle of last week that the billion euro project could be completed despite the difficulties over eight years of planning. The failure is unfortunate not only for the people of East Brandenburg but for the whole of Germany, he says. Ourmazd is not willing to take part in any discussion of the grounds of project’s failure - "I won’t take part in any finger pointing exercise," he adds.
