Software and services company Microsoft has invested a whopping sum of $1.13 billion for a data center in Iowa. The state and local officials announced on Friday that Microsoft will soon begin the construction on the new project. This investment in Iowa, where the Redmond giant already has one data center, has pushed the company’s total investment to around $2 billion. This is by far the largest investment in Iowa till date.
Known as “Project Alluvion”, the data center will cost around $1.13 billion and will be constructed in next four to five years. The state officials announced that it will bring job opportunities for up to 80 people.
Over the last few months the company has put a lot of effort towards enhancing the feature set of Azure server, and has made it more feasible than ever. Microsoft also recently launched Cortana with its new mobile operating system Windows Phone 8.1, which is expected to result in more data usage.
“The efforts that we put in developing a relationship with Microsoft has really led to today’s announcement and the significant investment in our community in central Iowa and in our state,” states Clyde Evans, West Des Moines’ director of community and economic development. The project is expected to generate $8.2 million in yearly property taxes for the city.
“Records are made to be broken, and Microsoft now has the record, so we’d be pleased to entertain the next investment that would break that record,” Gov. Terry Branstad says. Microsoft’s 2 billion dollar investment has surpassed Mid-American’s $1.9 billion wind farm investment. “Microsoft’s decision to again choose Iowa for another significant investment highlights our commitment to the innovation economy,” he adds.
Des Moines, the capital city in the U.S. state of Iowa, holds a sweet spot in the heart of tech giants. The place has been eyed by many companies as a location for their data centers. The social juggernaut Facebook has a data center in Des Moines also.
“We really do think that central Iowa will be the leader in global tech companies when it comes to data-center and related businesses,” Gaer says. “We think we have huge momentum. We believe our best days are ahead of us.”