| 28 Mar 2006 |
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TECOM Investments inks deal to launch SmartCity@Malta
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DUBAI -- The Dubai Technology and Media Free Zone(TECOM) will invest an estimated $308 million in SmartCity@Malta project, a new knowledge-industry park. This will be the largest ever foreign investment initiative to be undertaken in the Informationand Communication Technology(ICT) sector in Malta. The project is expected to generate 5,600 jobs in the knowledge-based sector.
An agreement for this project was signed yesterday by Austin Gatt, Minister of IT and Investments, Government of Malta and Ahmad Bin Byat, chief executive officer of TECOM Investments at the Ministry for Investment, Industry and Information Technology in Valletta, Malta .
The main objective of the SmartCity@Malta project is to create a cluster of knowledge-based companies who will be able to operate efficiently and cost-effectively in a business friendly environment. The project will transform the current Ricasoli Industrial Estate in Mala into an ICT and media Park modelled on Dubai Internet City and Dubai Media City.
The project will be jointly developed and managed by TECOM along with Dubai International Properties, the international real estate investment and development arm of Dubai Holding. The first deliverables from the investment are expected by 2008.
Ahmad bin Byat, said: "We have decided on Malta because we view Dubai and Malta as being very similar in terms of strategic location, size, connectivity, access to key markets and high tourism dependence, which resulted in a natural affinity between the two. Delivering SmartCity@Malta will not be an easy task. It will require enormous commitment and effort from both sides.On the basis of the work we have done together so far, we think we can look forward to a successful and prosperous business relationship with Malta."
According to the agreement, a company to be registered in Malta in the coming months will develop and operate SmartCity@Malta. The Government of Malta has agreed to make available the land for the project in exchange for 9 per cent equity in the investment, an annual ground rent and a return from the significant investment to be made in public spaces by the company operating SmartCity@Malta.
This project will contribute to Malta's efforts to develop into a leading regional ICT hub. Malta aims to use this opportunity to regenerate its infrastructure as well as create jobs in the south of Malta as part of its drive to transform the southern part of the island into a regional services hub.
The Maltese Minister of IT and Investments Austin Gatt said, "We are looking at creating 5,600 jobs today in a business sector that barely existed in our country a decade ago. We have created the opportunity for our young people to obtain well-paid jobs and a high standard of living right here in Malta."
The project will feature a host of facilities aimed at attracting knowledge-based companies. Once completed, the new Malta facility, the first European outpost for Dubai Internet City and Dubai Media City, is expected to provide global players with an ideal base for their European operations.BY MOUSHUMI DAS CHAUDHRY
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