Swedish telecommunication technology giant Ericsson will be building a new R&D facility in Quebec with incentives from the province, the company announced on Monday.
The new 40,000-square-metre facility will be built in Vaudreuil-Dorin, close to Montreal, near the company’s existing main R&D hubs in Montreal and Ottawa. It is expected to start operation in early 2015, serving the global market.
Ericsson will take advantage of preferential power rates from Hydro-Quebec, and will also benefit from a “tax holiday” for 10 years, awarded to companies investing in excess of $300 million in new data centre projects in the province.
The company will spend an estimated $1.3 billion on developing the new information and communications technology (ICT) centre, it was reported.
Noting that Ericsson is celebrating 60 years of doing business in Canada, Ericsson Canada president Mark Henderson said in a statement that the new high-tech centre will play a critical role in the company’s future innovation.
“The ICT Centre represents our commitment to the region and will contribute to building the ICT ecosystem and competence in Canada,” Henderson said.
Quebec Premier Pauline Marois said she welcomes the establishment of the new centre, which serves as proof that the province of Quebec has the ability to attract major investment projects.
“This project is a recognition of our strengths and marks confidence in the strength of our economy,” Marois said in a statement.
Headquartered in Stockholm, Ericsson currently employs more than 3,100 people in Canada and has more than 110,000 employees in over 180 countries. The new facility is expected to create some 60 new engineering jobs.
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