HAGERSTOWN, Maryland (Associated Press) - Bermuda-registered Intelsat Ltd. said yesterday it expects to create 50 to 60 jobs over the next five years at a new satellite communications site along Interstate 70 near Hagerstown, Maryland.

The project, helped by a $600,000 state loan, is the first occupant of a technology business park owned by Allegheny Energy Inc. near its corporate headquarters.

Intelsat is leasing office space from Allegheny while it constructs a building on 55 purchased acres, Intelsat spokeswoman Allison Scuriatti said. The 39,000-square-foot building, scheduled for completion this spring, will house offices and equipment for a wholly owned Intelsat subsidiary, Mountainside Teleport Corp., she said.

The ground station, or teleport, will include up to six dish-type satellite antennas, approximately 36 feet to 53 feet in diameter, Scuriatti said. It will be one of five company-owned teleports around the world relaying information between Intelsat's 25 geosynchronous satellites and telecommunications land lines, she said.

"It gives us a global, ground-based network that's able to interconnect with our satellite fleet," she said.

The hardware mainly supports services that Intelsat Global Service Corp. sells to other companies under the GlobalConnex umbrella. Buyers include telecommunications companies, broadcasters, corporate network service providers and Internet service providers, Scuriatti said.

Most of the site's employees will be specialised engineering and technical workers, she said.

The $600,000 loan from the Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development would convert to a grant if Bermuda-based Intelsat creates 60 permanent jobs by December 31, 2005, and 100 new full-time positions by December 31, 2008, DBED spokeswoman Tori Leonard said.

The company also may be eligible for up to $100,000 in state work force training funds and $1.6 million in Washington County tax credits.

The deal was a relief for Allegheny Energy and Washington County, which have been trying for at least five years to lure high-paying, high-tech employers to Allegheny's Friendship Technology Park. Hagerstown's economic history is rooted in blue-collar employers such as railroads and heavy manufacturers.

"The realisation of this telecommunications project proves that Washington County is the right location for high-tech companies," Timothy R. Troxell, executive director of the Hagerstown-Washingon County Economic Development Commission, said.

Allegheny Energy is the parent company for public utilities that provide electricity and natural gas to 1.7 million customers, or about 3 million people, in Maryland, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia.