North Carolina put to rest the poorly kept secret that it passed legislation to lure Apple into the state when Governor Bev Purdue revealed on Wednesday that the company will be locating a new server farm there. As part of the tax incentive deal, Apple is expected in invest some US$1 billion in the state as part of a nine-year project.

"We welcome Apple to North Carolina and look forward to working with the company as it begins providing a significant economic boost to local communities and the state," said Governor Purdue.

The data center is expected to employ at least 50 full-time employees, and to create about 250 additional contract jobs in an area that is suffering from high unemployment rates. The state's Department of Commerce is projecting that the server farm could help create over 3,000 jobs for the region, many of which will be involved in the center's construction.

North Carolina law makers passed legislation earlier in the week that gave special tax breaks to a single unnamed company. While government officials said the company was Apple, neither the state or Apple officially confirmed the deal at the time.

The tax incentives could save Apple about $46 million over the next ten years, and up to $300 million over the next thirty years. Apple hasn't said how it plans to use the server farm.