Washington, DC-based technology firm Pegasus Global Holdings has announced plans to build a massive ghost city in New Mexico designed to test all sorts of new technology in a realistic environment. The replica city will be modeled after a typical American community of 35,000 and will cost $200 million to construct.
The project known as The Center for Innovation, Testing and Evaluation (The Center) is the first of its kind in the US and will allow scientists, federal labs and military personnel to test innovations in a real-world setting, reports the Washington Post. The 20-square-mile city will feature common infrastructure such as houses, highways and commercial buildings, new and old.
"The idea for The Center was born out of our own company's challenges in trying to test new and emerging technologies beyond the confines of a sterile lab environment," Robert H. Brumley, Pegasus Global's CEO said. "As entrepreneurs, we saw a global need and stepped up to address it. The Center will allow private companies, not for profits, educational institutions and government agencies to test in a unique facility with real world infrastructure, allowing them to better understand the cost and potential limitations of new technologies prior to introduction."
The company has been working with the state for a year and a half but has yet to select a build site. The facility will be developed on state-owned land either in the Albuquerque-Santa Fe corridor or in the Las Cruces area near the Mexican border.
Brumley expects the project to attract multiple investors with plans to create around 350 direct jobs and up to 3,500 jobs to be created in its design, development, construction and ongoing operation. Revenue will be generated from access charges and user fees as well as from the sale of excess utility output, such as power generation, water treatment and wireless infrastructure.
Photo courtesy of MatejaPetkovic.