Galway Technology Centre expansion to generate 12,500 jobs and €1.4 billion investment for west
Galway Technology Centre, (GTC) has announced details of their new AcademyWest expansion, which is expected to generate a cumulative total of 12,500 jobs for the West over the next 15 years and estimated investment of €1.4 billion. The expansion project is being strongly facilitated by Enterprise Ireland, who provide ongoing support to Galway Technology Centre. The centre is a social enterprise jointly owned by Galway Chamber and WestBIC.
The AcademyWest project will have a particular focus on facilitating rapid scaling for start ups and other innovation driven enterprises, as well as growing ICT businesses in need of second sites. The 22,000 square foot expansion will see the total floor area of GTC extend to 72,000 square feet, with the number of floors in the facility growing from two to four. The project will also include dedicated conferencing and meeting space and will address a critical capacity barrier in the existing centre. When complete the development will enable GTC to become an even greater focal point for the expanding tech cluster throughout Galway and the west of Ireland.
The impact of the expansion is expected to see 828 new jobs and €62.4 million in investment generated per annum by Year 5, growing to 1,689 new jobs and €127.3 million per annum by Year 10 and on to 2,517 new jobs and €189.7 million per annum by Year 15. This will bring the cumulative total to over 12,500 jobs and €1.4 billion over the next 15 years.
Currently GTC is home to 41 companies, with 326 people employed directly on site. A social enterprise, it provides scale up space and supports to meet the needs of innovative ICT startups and entrepreneurs. Working in conjunction with Enterprise Ireland and the IDA, GTC has hosted a range of successful Irish and international companies – including Storm Technology, Blue Tree Systems, Siren, PlanNet 21, 9th Impact, Ex Ordo, Action Point, Electronic Arts (EA), SAP, Wayfair and many others.
GTC was the first technology innovation centre in Ireland, originally founded in the mid-nineties following the closure of Digital Equipment Corporation’s Galway facility. At that time, Digital had been Galway’s largest employer. In response to that closure a special Government Task Force was established who invited Galway Chamber, WestBIC and An Forbairt to realise their vision of an indigenous ICT cluster in the west of Ireland. This led to the formation of GTC.
Over the last 25+ years GTC has housed more than 300 different companies who have created over 3,000 jobs.
CAPTION:
A computer generated image showing the expanded Galway Technology Centre. The centre’s new AcademyWest expansion is expected to generate a cumulative total of 12,500 jobs and €1.4 billion investment for Galway and the west over the next 15 years.
