Hewlett Packard will build two state-of-the-art data centers in metro Atlanta, creating 280 jobs and an initial investment of $600 million, a number that will grow by the tens of millions over the next five years.

One of the 200,000 square-foot centers will be constructed at HP's campus in Alpharetta, and the second will locate in an existing building in Suwanee. The 280 new jobs will be split between the two locations.

The $600 million investment is the second largest project in Georgia of this type in recent history, behind only Kia Motor's $1.2 billion automotive assembly plant in West Point announced in March. When combined with Gulfstream Aerospace's plan for a $300 million expansion that was also revealed in March, the state of Georgia has announced three projects in just over two months totaling $2.1 billion in new investment.

"The state and the communities involved in this project worked together to ensure that we had all the information we needed to make this decision," said Carlos Cardoso, HP's state and local government affairs manager for the Eastern region.

HP operates in more than 170 countries around the world.

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