'Global names' interested in SmartCity

A number of global IT companies have already expressed an interest in SmartCity, Tecom Investments chief executive officer Ahmad Bin Byat said yesterday.

Mr Bin Byat was speaking after the signing of the heads of agreement between Tecom and the government for the Lm110 million IT village that the Dubai company plans to build at Ricasoli, a project in which the government is to have a nine per cent share.

He said Tecom had already started to market the project to 2,000 international companies which operate through its ICT, media and education clusters, and had found them to be "very positive" about it. Although he would not name the companies that have expressed interest in SmartCity, he referred to them as "global names".

Tecom's Dubai Internet City, on which SmartCity will be modelled, is a base for 700 IT companies that include the likes of global players Microsoft, HP, IBM, Dell, Siemens, Canon, Sony Ericsson and Cisco.

SmartCity will need to work closely with telecommunications service providers, Mr Bin Byat said. It would not be successful without a strong technology infrastructure.

He referred to the project and the company's interest in buying shares in Maltacom as "one strategy" for the company, saying that the IT village was part of a "chain of investments" that Tecom hoped to undertake in Malta.

Confirming that the company's bid to acquire 35 per cent of Tunisian telecommunications company Tunisie Telecom's shares has been short-listed, Mr Bin Byat said Tecom had global aspirations in the telecommunications field.

Mentioning the proximity of Malta and Tunis, he said buying the Tunisian shares would add value to their Malta operation and Tecom's interests elsewhere.

Mr Bin Byat said Malta had been selected as the first European outpost for Dubai Internet City and Dubai Media City because of the similarity between the island and Dubai. They were similar in terms of size, strategic location, access to markets and dependency on tourism. EU membership, he added, was an important feature.

Tecom's plans do not stop in Malta - Mr Bin Byat pointed to a worldwide network of Smart City projects that would be set up over the next few years.

"We plan to fulfil our mission by developing an international network of world-class ICT and media clusters called Smart Cities." Tecom's mission was to create the infrastructure, environment and attitude that enabled ICT and media enterprises to operate with significant competitive advantage.

Questioned about the supply of local IT knowledge, Mr Bin Byat said Tecom needed to work closely with local institutions which developed talent and capabilities and made sure that there were enough knowledgeable people to meet employment requirements. He said the 400 students who graduated annually were enough to start with but there was a need for growth. While Maltese employees would be given first preference, if there were not enough qualified locals the company would import labour.

IT Minister Austin Gatt, who signed the agreement on behalf of the government, said Smart City will create a new concept that lends a style of life to those working within it. He said the project will create around 5,600 jobs within the next 12 to 15 years.

SmartCity is projected to open in 2008 and continue to expand until 2016.

The heads of agreement is a mutually binding instrument which sets out the responsibilities and obligations of the government and of Tecom in the development and operation of the project.

It stipulates that a company to be registered here in the coming months will develop and operate the IT village. The government has agreed to make land in Ricasoli available for SmartCity in exchange for a nine per cent equity, an annual ground rent and a return through the significant investment that will be made by the company.