Food ingredients company Kerry Group is to create 900 new jobs as part of a €100 million investment in Kildare.

The company is to invest €100 million in the establishment of a global technology and innovation centre in Naas.

Some 900 jobs as well as 400 immediate construction jobs will be created as a result of the investment part-funded by the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation through Enterprise Ireland.

"This is the largest single investment in food innovation ever by a company in Ireland, and puts Ireland firmly at the forefront of global food innovation," Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation Richard Bruton said.

CEO of Enterprise Ireland Frank Ryan added: "Food is Ireland's number one export sector and critically important to our economy and to export-led growth. This centre…will underpin Ireland's world-wide reputation in food innovation and secure our standing as a world leader in the food industry."

The new campus will accommodate 800 people in 2015 and a further 100 positions when fully commissioned by mid-2016.

Kerry Group CEO Stan McCarthy said the centre would be located on a greenfield 28-acre site in the Millennium Business Park at Naas, Co Kildare.

It will serve as a key focal point for Kerry's customer engagement activities providing strategic customers with access to the group's technologies, scientific research, innovation and applications expertise across food, beverage and pharmaceutical markets.

Welcoming the announcement, Taoiseach Enda Kenny said: “This is a massive project on many levels.” He added: “We are most encouraged and delighted that the investment will create 900 highly-skilled jobs in a new research facility that will also involve 400 construction jobs, hopefully commencing in the new year.”

Kerry Group has 150 manufacturing facilities in 25 countries and employs 24,000 globally.