Galway Bay fm newsroom – Businesses across Galway are gearing up for a major boost following the approval of plans for an 850 million euro Apple data centre in Athenry.
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The 24,500 square metre data centre was approved by An Bord Pleanala and will help run Siri, iTunes and the App store. Apple has said that by 2031, eight buildings of nearly 25,000 sq ms each could be developed to cater for “rapid expansion” in wireless communications, networking and entertainment.
The development will involve a single-storey data centre, a logistic and administration building, and a security unit.
However, the board made a decision to grant permission for the proposed development with revised conditions.
Planning permission was granted by Galway Co Council for the centre in September past year, however, a number of appeals were lodged.
It is estimated that up to 300 jobs will be created during the construction phase of the facility.
Deputy Grealish was the only TD to present in favour of Apple’s plans at the oral hearing in the city in May.
The higher planning authority has now granted permission for the development with conditions attached after various objections to the project.
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Part of the planning application included construction of an electricity sub-station which will connect the plant with the national grid.
