ALBUQUERQUE, N.M., Dhu-AlHijjah 13, 1437, Sep 14, 2016, SPA -- Facebook has chosen a village on the edge of New Mexico's largest metropolitan area as the location for its new data center, an announcement that spread quickly Wednesday as elected officials celebrated a hard-sought win that could have ripple effects for the state's struggling economy. News of the social media giant's decision to build in Los Lunas, just south of Albuquerque, comes after a roller-coaster contest between New Mexico and Utah to attract the facility. U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich broke the news on social media, and the rest of the congressional delegation followed minutes later. Gov. Susana Martinez in a statement welcomed what she described as a stellar, cutting-edge company. In Los Lunas, village officials were rejoicing, AP reported. "This is huge for the state of New Mexico, for the region, for the whole Southwest. This is a big win," said Ralph Mims, the village's economic development director. The courting of Facebook began more than a year ago with a meeting between the Republican governor and Facebook executives. During a visit to California, Martinez and her economic development team pitched the sparsely populated state as a good place to do business. New Mexico wasn't on the radar before that August 2015 meeting. "With the improvements we've made over the past several years, New Mexico is finally competing again, and in this case, it's a big win for the people of our state and our economic future," the governor said. While the project has enjoyed broad political support in New Mexico, local leaders in Utah pushed back against a tax-incentive plan they saw as too generous. Utah supporters said the project would bring a high-tech cachet that could draw other companies to West Jordan, but critics said the cost was too high for land that could attract other development. -- SPA 23:22 LOCAL TIME 20:22 GMT www.spa.gov.sa/w