Investment Minister Austin Gatt yesterday gave notice to Parliament of a motion for the transfer of government-owned land in Ricasoli to SmartCity (Malta) Ltd for the creation of SmartCity.

He also tabled the draft agreement reached between the government and Tecom Investments on the development of the project as well as the memorandum of understanding and articles of association of SmartCity (Malta) Ltd, a joint venture in which the government will have a nine per cent stake.

The Investments Ministry said that the government would, in a few days' time, publish a master plan for the SmartCity project detailing aspects such as architecture, construction methods, the environment, planning and transport.

Dr Gatt said in a statement that the conclusion of the talks on SmartCity meant that the government was achieving its most important objective, which was the creation of high value jobs and new investment opportunities in Malta.

He stressed that this project was not limited to the creation of IT-related jobs. Nonetheless, this was confirmation that information technology was now one of the pillars of the Maltese economy, with spinoffs in other sectors such as tourism, manufacturing and educational services.

This project also meant that Malta was being recognised on the world stage as a centre of excellence.

Debate on the motion is expected to start in a parliamentary committee next week.