The official signing of the Dh1.1 billion ($300 million) Smart City project between Dubai’s Tecom Investments and the Maltese government is expected shortly, and construction work will begin soon after.

The project will put Malta on the world IT map, according to Dr Lawrence Gonzi, the Maltese Prime Minister.
In an interview with Gulf Industry, Dr Gonzi said the Smart City project would help Malta become the European centre for IT, healthcare and education. The country also aspires to become a financial centre of excellence in Europe.
“Smart City will help Malta’s GDP to grow 10 per cent and generate 5,600 jobs which could eventually go up to 10,000 in a few years,” according to Dr Gonzi. “It will transform our economy from one based on low-cost manufacturing to a technology-oriented economy based on knowledge, skills and resources.
“The project reflects the vision of the island to host value-added industries, and we are planning to be a Mediterranean and European centre for information and communication technology in the next five years.”
The project’s $300 million foreign direct investment is one of the largest gained by Malta.
“Following our entry into the European Union, setting up a business here in Malta would mean that you gain access to doing business with the entire Europe. Tecom explored the options, and we offered an attractive package with a large piece of land that used to be an industrial area,” said Dr Gonzi.
“The benefits of the Smart City concept, as we have seen in Dubai, transcend all areas of the socio-economic sphere. It contributes to job creation and development of other sectors such as hospitality and financial services (among others).
“We have plans to be the world’s centre for financial services, and we are already one of the most successful financial services centres in the world. We intend to be a bigger success in the next five years.”
The Prime Minister also expressed Malta’s intention to become a European centre of education and said it would encourage foreign and European investments in the sector and attract foreign students for study here.
“After Dubai’s investment in Malta, we expect that Middle East investments will increase on the island in the next few years,” he said. Dr Gonzi recalled that Malta had received big Libyan, Tunisian, and Egyptian investments, and that the region’s biggest independent investment was a joint Maltese-Libyan company called Lafico, which is operating in the hotel and tourism sector, the resources area and manufacturing.
Tecom Investments, a member of Dubai Holding, manages Dubai Internet City, Dubai Media City and Knowledge Village. It is currently promoting such projects globally in collaboration with Sama Dubai - an international real estate developer.