The work follows completion of a new $180-million wafer fab plant here for Tower by Meissner Baran, which is jointly owned by Baran Group Ltd. of Israel and M+W Zander from Germany.

The second-phase work, also is being performed by Meissner-Baran Ltd., will increase the manufacturing capabilities of the new Tower plant to 33,000 wafers per month and allow for further production ramping. The second phase will be built in five sub-phases, with a $4-million sub-phase beginning immediately and follow-on phases "to be performed in accordance with the pace and progress of the Phase II Project, as well as Tower's demands," according to Baran Group, a publicly traded international engineering and construction solutions firm with offices in New York.

The Baran Group's Alex Berd did not immediately return a phone call seeking further comment. Tower manufactures integrated circuits with geometries ranging from 1.0 to 0.18 microns; it also provides complementary manufacturing services and design support. Baran Group provides full-service, turnkey engineering and technological planning and production services to a broad range of industries.