A £100m HI-TECH business park for Gwent with the promise of several thousand new jobs gets under way today.

The Celtic Springs development, on 42 acres, next to the M4 on the western outskirts of Newport is set to become the "Silicon Valley" of Wales.

Creating several thousand new jobs at the £2m-landscaped business park, it is set to rival any other similar development in the UK.

awg Developments have linked with Chepstow-based Broadhall in a joint venture to develop the greenfield site close to Cleppa Park and opposite the vacant Hyundai (former LG) semiconductor plant.

The project has already been adopted by city status bidding Newport as an integral part of its bid to win the recognition as part of the Queen's Golden Jubilee.

The first phase of the development will be a £10m, three storey flagship building to create a shop window for the rest of the scheme.

A 150-bed four-star hotel and leisure complex is also part of the development proposals And such is the level of enquiries for the site that awg has applied for planning permission to build an additional 30,000 sq ft unit at Celtic Springs.

Peter Walford, senior development manager, awg Developments said: "With the support of Welsh Development Agency and Newport County Borough Council we are investing heavily in the South Wales economy and as of to-day we are barely nine months away from the first building being completed.

"We are setting the tone for the whole development, creating a prestigious business park, the first on the Welsh stretch of the M4 corridor where the quality and design of buildings will make Celtic Springs feel very different from other business parks.

Newport mayor, Ron Morris, described Celtic Springs as an innovative initiative that will is help create a prosperous future for Newport.