Data centre ‘will bridge digital divide’
The move will help bridge the digital divide between Dublin and the west, said Tony Killeen, Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise and Employment.
The centre will be based at the €160m Westpark development, which is under construction.
Mr Killeen said the centre would provide the most up-to-date technology for companies in Westpark.
The centre will be a critical part of the technological infrastructure of Westpark.
The development was announced in May 2003 and will take up to ten years to complete.
It is intended that the data centre will facilitate high-powered data service providers setting up in the west and aid the Government’s plan to boost regional development.
Westpark Shannon is in talks with a number of blue-chip companies to operate the data centre. Others are looking at using the centre for back office and disaster recovery operations.
Brian O’Connell, the Limerick business contractor behind the €160m development said yesterday his aim is to create a facility “that will be equal to or better” than anything else available here.
An estimated 1,500 people are expected to be employed at Westpark, which will provide one million square feet of office space for information technology and knowledge-based business in the region.
Westpark is being constructed as a result of a partnership between Concre Development, owned by Mr O’Connell and Shannon Development.
John Clancy, Westpark’s head of ICT infrastructure, said the initial 5m investment was “due recognition of the vital role world-class ICT services play in attracting world-class tenants.”
Due to the substantial growth of outsourcing, there was a need for instant online contact, Mr Clancy said. The project will create a “flagship development in Shannon, in Ireland and in the international market,” he said.
