Kioxia plans new flash memory chip venture in Japan with Western Digital

FILE PHOTO: Japanese chipmaker Kioxia's logo and promotional video on a screen are pictured at its headquarters in Tokyo, Japan, September 30, 2021. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon

TOKYO (Reuters) -Kioxia Holdings Corp said on Wednesday it plans to jointly build with Western Digital Corp a new flash memory fabrication facility in its plant in northern Japan, which, a source said, may entail an investment of some 1 trillion yen ($8.3 billion).

The construction of the new earthquake-resistant facility at its Kitakami plant in Iwate prefecture is scheduled to commence in April 2022 and is expected to be completed in 2023, the Japanese chipmaker said in a statement.