THE new project from IBM will create 2,850 jobs, contribute a wages bill of £50 million a year and will generate £50 million a year in business for sub suppliers, according to the company.

The project was won by IDA Ireland against stiff competition from Scotland, other EU countries and even IBM plants in the US. It is expected to be in full production within five years and will involve an Exchequer contribution of around £50 million.

Unveiling the £220 million project at a press conference yesterday, IBM's vice president Mr Patrick Toole said the decision to locate in Ireland was linked to the company's growth worldwide.

IBM will be manufacturing storage disks, demand for which is growing at 47 per cent a year, in the first, phase of the development. This will come on stream late next year, initially employing 800 people.

Mr Toole said the state of the artcampus would also carry out a range of other functions for IBM, including manufacturing products which were not even developed yet and products linked to the Internet.

He said the Government - local and national - had worked what, IBM considered to be a miracle in putting all elements of the deal together and organising the location in west Dublin. He said flexibility and speed of response by the authorities had been two key factors in choosing Ireland.

Mr Toole also said the Irish workforce had been a very important element, as it was flexible, highly educated and would be continually updating skills while working for IBM.

He also paid tribute to IBM's Irish staff who he said had played a key role in bringing the project to Ireland.

The Taoiseach, Mr Bruton, said the IBM project would feature the most advanced campus project ever built in Ireland.

The Minister for Enterprise and Employment, Mr Richard Bruton, said the project would bring a range of skills to Ireland. "They will be very high quality jobs and the plant, will get into production very, quickly," he said.