LG SITE TO BE DATA CENTRE

A £200m deal has been secured to bring a state-of-the-art data centre to Newport, providing computer services to businesses and creating 100 jobs.

New Generation Data Ltd has chosen the former LG semiconductor site to house the centre, which will be one of the largest and advanced in Europe.The First Minister Rhodri Morgan described the investment as "critical" for economic growth.The semi-conductor plant has been empty since it was completed in 1998. Its sister plant, LG Electronics, closed in 2006 with the company blaming falling prices and rising costs of producing computer monitors.The data centre will house the electronic hardware and communication links needed to run websites and e-commerce businesses in a highly-secure environment. New Generation Data says it is also in negotiations with several blue-chip companies to lease areas within the new site to run their own equipment and businesses independently. Chief executive Nick Razey said he hoped the plant would be operational by the end of the year. "The site is perfectly situated for the requirements of a data centre," he said.