Malta Prime Minister unveils masterplan for SmartCity Malta

SmartCity officials revealed the components of the SmartCity Malta development following an unveiling ceremony, during a press conference held at the Dubai Internet City Community Zone at GITEX Technology Week 2007.

Apart from the Prime Minister, the press conference was attended by Austin Gatt, Malta's Minister of investment, industry and IT; Ahmad bin Byat, Executive Chairman of TECOM Investments and Abdullatif Almulla, CEO of TECOM Investments.

Set in the heart of the Mediterranean region, SmartCity Malta, located in Ricasoli, southern Malta, seeks to build a rich and vibrant knowledge-based industry cluster, primarily serving the ICT and media sectors.

The masterplan has been developed to facilitate the creation of a complete business and community infrastructure for knowledge-based industries. Its components include intelligent buildings offering office space as well as residential, retail, hospitality and recreational facilities which provide both a high-quality work environment and lifestyle for knowledge workers.

Fareed Abdulrahman, Executive Director, SmartCity, said:

"SmartCity Malta will be developed to provide a harmonious and productive environment for knowledge-based companies to develop their business. While companies will benefit from high-quality infrastructure and support systems, knowledge workers will have the ideal environment to work, network and share ideas. At the same time, a rich community life will facilitate an optimum work-life balance."

The main component of the masterplan is a commercial complex that provides over 100,000 square metres of intelligent office space. Designed to the highest global standards of commercial and sustainable development, this complex will form the core business infrastructure for SmartCity Malta's knowledge-industry community.

Over 30 per cent of the land for SmartCity Malta will be open to the public. This will feature green boulevards and avenues, an amphitheatre, a lagoon, a coastal route and vista points on the edge of a coastal cliff. SmartCity Malta will have three urban squares and a main shopping parade. The highlight of the public space is a lagoon surrounded by a promenade which will have outdoor cafes and restaurants to serve as a meeting point and leisure destination.

Also part of the masterplan is a small-scale conference centre as well as hotels, catering to the needs of the business community and visitors to the companies based in SmartCity Malta.

A community centre will provide services such as a crèche, health centre, library and outdoor sports facilities such as tennis courts, playgrounds and informal green spaces. The masterplan also features a residential complex. Around half of the residences will be located in the vicinity of the main shopping area while the rest will consist of villas and townhouses stretching along a coastal footpath.

Being the largest foreign direct investment in the ICT and media sectors in Malta, the project is expected to bring significant benefits to the country's economy. The benefits include those generated through direct developmental activity as well as inter-industry linkages and multiplier effects.

SmartCity Malta is projected to generate four per cent growth in the Maltese job market. In addition to new jobs in the knowledge-based industry, SmartCity Malta will bring employment opportunities to several allied sectors. In short, the project will be the single largest employment generation source in Malta's history.

SmartCity Malta, along with SmartCity Kochi (based in the southern Indian state of Kerala) are the first two projects that form part of the global network of knowledge-based industry hubs SmartCity seeks to develop. This global network is expected to foster productive linkages and tap synergies among knowledge-industry centres worldwide, thereby contributing to economic development.