2006 wasn't the best year for AMD. Especially if you take into account the defeat they suffered when Core 2 Duos came invading the market. Moreover, the merge betweenAMD and Ati left some serious scars on the face of AMD and I can safely say that they are still recovering from the illness.

It's enough to think that both companies have postponed quite a lot of products in the late months to understand what's really going on. Let's hope that the absorption of Ati will prove to be a good thing in the end. I really think that the merge will shine but it will take some time before that happens. Until then, AMD has developed a really impressive roadmap. And with such a roadmap, a new fab should be the next logical step.

So, on Friday, Advanced Micro Devices signed an agreement to receive a $650 million state grant to build a new 12-inch fab in Luther Forest Technology Campus. The state Public Authorities Control Board approved the grant for AMD on Wednesday. The documents state that AMD will have a two-year window, from July 2007 to July 2009, to start building the new 300 mm-wafer fabrication facility.

"The timing of the final decision depends on a number of factors, including future market demand. But with a growing customer base, leading technology and the hope for a truly fair and open competitive playing field, AMD remains optimistic about prospects for continued momentum in the years ahead," an AMD official claimed on a press conference.

The new fab will probably be used to manufacture 65nm CPUs and will offer some 1,200 new jobs and thousands of indirect jobs through supporting construction and infrastructure improvements starting with July 2007. So I guess it's building time again. And that proves two things. First, that INTEL mustn't forget that AMD is not a 3rd party chipmaker anymore. Furthermore, AMD still holds a few surprises. Agena included.