Two Irish e-learning companies, Educational Multimedia Corporation and Unlimited, have been chosen as the first digital media firms to locate at the €250 million Digital Hub complex in Dublin.

In the next few weeks, each company will take one floor of an 8,000 square feet building known as OneFiveSeven, which is the first enterprise space to have been refurbished at the Digital Hub. A few other digital media firms will be invited to share the remaining two floors in the building shortly, Mr Philip Flynn, chief executive of the Digital Hub project, said yesterday.

The Digital Hub is a major public-private partnership, which is seeking to redevelop several acres in the Liberties area to attract digital media firms in fields such as gaming, e-learning and electronic publishing. The Government has so far committed €130 million to the development, which was formerly a pet project of the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern.

Mr Flynn, a former executive at several technology firms who took up the top job at the Digital Hub earlier this week, also announced yesterday that Duggan Brothers (Contractors) Limited had been chosen as the main contractor for a 20,000 square feet site known as the Printing Works.

"Within the next 12 months we expect to create a few hundred jobs at the Digital Hub," said Mr Flynn, who left the Irish software firm Orbiscom to take on the role.

"But I've seen reports which suggest we could deliver 8,000 to 10,000 new jobs and I don't have any reason to doubt that."

More than 20 digital media companies expressed interest in becoming one of the anchor tenants, according to Mr Flynn, who believes the "clustering of skills" at the site will create innovation.

In the short term, maybe the next two to three years, we will create a clustered environment that will have foreign firms, Irish-established digital media companies and start-ups, he says.

Educational Multimedia Corporation, which employs less than 50 staff in Dublin, said yesterday this was one of the key reasons it chose to locate at the Digital Hub.

An Educational Multimedia spokesman said the firm would move into the OneFiveSeven building within two weeks.

Unlimited, an e-learning firm founded in Cork in 1989 that now employs 40 staff, will move into the OneFiveSeven site shortly.

Meanwhile, in his first interview since becoming chief executive of the Digital Hub, Mr Flynn said the project would probably span the decade.

"As Bill Gates said, this is the 'Digital Decade' and we are only really at the beginning of that."

Mr Flynn will be responsible for managing the development of the Digital Hub, which will involve refurbishment and construction of 500,000 square feet of enterprise space at the Liberties.

The Digital Hub management firm recently shortlisted four development consortiums to take part in a competition for the contract to develop the main elements of the site. These are:

• Digital Developments (Dublin) Ltd, Bennett (Construction) Ltd and Jarvis Projects Ltd.

• HBG Ascon Ltd and HBG Hollandsche Beton Groep NV.

• Manor Park Digital Hub Ltd, Manor Park Homebuilders Ltd and G&T Crampton Holdings Plc.

• Pierse Contracting Ltd and Earlsfort Centre Developments.

Mr Flynn said his primary focus would be on delivering the project on schedule and so that it delivered value for money.

"A significant amount of Government money has been invested and we have to get a return for that."