SmartCity deal signed on 'special day for Malta'

24/04/07

The agreement on Smart City Malta, which is expected to be the biggest foreign investment the island has ever seen, was signed yesterday morning and a number of multinational companies are already showing "significant interest" in the project.

The $300 million (Lm95 million) project is expected to create 5,600 jobs over eight years and promises to transform the derelict Ricasoli Industrial Estate into a state-of-the-art ICT and Media business community.

The signing ceremony took place at the Westin Dragonara in St. Julians with a satisfied IT Minister Austin Gatt saying "Today is a special day for Malta, crowning the aspirations that we all have.'

At today's prices, SmartCity Malta is estimated by 2014 to be making an annual contribution of some €534 million (Lm227 million) to Malta's GDP. The minister said the project has the potential to increase the employment figure to 7,000 apart from the several hundred Malta jobs created in the economy as a multiplier effect.

SmartCity is described as the largest job-creator under one roof in Malta's history, with the first workers expected to be engaged within 18 months.

The agreement was signed between the Maltese government and SmartCity, a joint venture between Tecom Investments and Sama Dubai.

Dubai Internet City, which forms the basis for the Malta project, has over 1,000 companies operating out of it, making it one of the largest managed ICT clusters in the world. It has grown at an average annual rate of 53 per cent since its launch seven years ago.

Malta's strategic location as an EU member was among the decisive factors for Tecom in establishing the partnership.

The Malta facility will be the first European outpost for SmartCity. It is expected that global players, a number of whom have already demonstrated significant interest in the project, will be able to focus their European operations and business through SmartCity Malta.

He said that the next two years will be busy with construction activity, though he made it clear that the developers will seek to care for the environment and minimise noise.

Under the terms of a second agreement signed yesterday, the government has agreed to make available nearly 358,000 square metres of land for development.