Construction Begins on Mega NSA Data Center

Construction began Thursday on a massive data center in Utah for the National Security Agency as part of the government's program to better protect its computer networks from cyber attacks.

The $1.2 billion contract for the project was awarded in September 2010 and will consist of a 1 million-square-foot facility south of Salt Lake City to support the intelligence community in providing foreign intelligence about cybersecurity threats and protecting Defense Department networks.

Ground was broken Thursday for the project, located inside Camp Williams, a Utah National Guard base near Lehi, Utah. Grading work is already underway for the center which will be capable of generating its own power and will have fuel and water storage, the Deseret News reported.

The construction is expected to bring 5,000 to 10,000 jobs to Utah and will be finished in October 2013, The Salt Lake Tribune reported.