14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft is working to open a new data center in American state Iowa, at the southeast corner of West Des Moines, and the construction is going so fast that workers are now giving the final touches to the first two buildings.
KCCI reports that Microsoft will invest a total of $1.1 billion (€750,000) in the four-phase project, which would in the end generate 84 full-time jobs and have a powerful impact on the local community, as authorities have also started work to improve the infrastructure and pave rural roads.
The first phase of the project is expected to be completed by this summer, the aforementioned source notes, and in order to make sure that everything goes according to plan, local authorities have also joined with $87 million (€65 million) to improve the infrastructure around the data center.
Microsoft hasn't yet provided any details on the new data center, but the company is investing billions of dollars in similar facilities across the world, as it's working to expand its cloud business.
For instance, the company is also working to open a new data center in North Phoenix in a former Honeywell International manufacturing plant and engineering operations facility.
Honeywell closed the factory in 2008, so the building was pretty much unused in the last few years, but together with local authorities, Microsoft is working to reboot local operations, improve infrastructure and create new jobs in the region.