Intel wants 10 bln euros of government funding for plant in Germany -Handelsblatt

BERLIN, Feb 8 (Reuters) - Intel has provided the German economy ministry with a new calculation for a planned chip factory in the city of Magdeburg that considers almost 10 billion euros ($10.74 billion) of government funding to be necessary, business daily Handelsblatt reported on Wednesday, citing government sources.

An Intel spokesperson declined to comment on the figure in Handelsblatt but was quoted as saying the group was "working very closely with government partners to close the critical cost gap".

The company explains that its new demand, which exceeds the already approved funds of 6.8 billion euros ($7.3 billion), was necessary due to higher energy costs and that it would like to use a more advanced technology in the plant than initially planned, Handelsblatt said. ($1 = 0.9308 euros) (Reporting by Kirsti Knolle; editing by Matthias Williams)