Maiden and Catawba County officials in North Carolina confirmed Monday evening that Apple will be locating a new US$1 billion data center in their community.

North Carolina law makers passed legislation that gave Apple special tax incentives to build the new data center in the state. In return, Apple agreed to invest $1 billion in the facility over the next nine years, and to build in an area that needs more jobs.

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 as many as 3,000 jobs for the region, some of which will be involved in the center's construction.

After Apple agreed to build its new facility in the state, Governor Purdue commented "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."

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.