It has made the headlines over and over again. We have read, seen and heard about it for months on end. On April 23, it became a reality, amid impeccably-organised pomp and circumstance. No prize for guessing. We are speaking about SmartCity Malta (SCM).
However, how many of us have a good idea of what SCM will provide in terms of information technology and communication services? We've heard about the number of promised jobs, we analysed the site plans, our imagination was fired by the artistic impressions, but what kind of ICT and ancillary services will be provided to attract the right companies that will make or break the whole concept of a SmartCity in Malta?
The right man to answer these types of questions is Fareed Abdulrahman, the executive director of SmartCity, the joint venture between TECOM Investments and Sama Dubai. I-Tech caught up with him as soon as Ricasoli was being turned into the first European outpost for SmartCity.
He has been at the helm of SmartCity since February but was also part of the core team that developed the value proposition of Dubai Internet City.
The first question comes easy. How will SCM compare to Dubai Media City and Dubai Internet City in terms of facilities and incentives offered to prospective tenants?
"SmartCity Malta addresses a completely different region," explained Mr Abdulrahman. "While SCM is a knowledge-based industry hub for the Mediterranean region, Dubai Internet City and Dubai Media City are ICT and media hubs for the Middle East."
Nonetheless, SCM will be based on the successful models of the two cities. The core concept behind the last two is a knowledge-based industry cluster where companies enjoy a supportive infrastructure and environment that can help them develop and grow faster. The same concept is at the heart of SCM.
"We will be bringing to SmartCity Malta several concepts that have been successful in Dubai Internet City and Dubai Media City. One of these concepts is the one-stop-shop," he revealed to i-Tech.
"The idea behind this concept is to provide a range of support services from a single window that will help businesses eliminate operational hassles in setting up and running a company so that they can focus on their time and energy on their core competencies and their core business."
The Maltese government will be facilitating the one-stop-shop concept through a government services unit or GSU in SCM. This unit, which will operate hand in hand with the various ministries, will be offering a range of support services like business set-up, licensing, registration and incorporation services from a single window.
Mr Abdulrahman confirmed that a few international companies have expressed their interest in setting up shop in SmartCity Malta, but it is a bit too early to reveal their names.
"SmartCity Malta welcomes any company in the knowledge-based industry which is interested in long-term investment in Malta and the Mediterranean region."
He explained that, to attract companies to SCM, a marketing and branding campaign would be waged on two fronts. On one front, there will be a campaign to raise the profile of SCM as a brand. On another front, SmartCity will work with the Maltese government and Malta Enterprise to promote Malta as a hub for the knowledge-based industry in the Mediterranean.
SCM's marketing campaign will be a global effort. The campaign in Europe will be simultaneous with the campaigns in other markets.
"In our campaigns, we will be promoting Malta as a hub from which knowledge-based companies can target markets in the entire Mediterranean region," explained Mr Abdulrahman. "Malta's strategic geographic location at the centre of this region gives it the ability to be a hub and we will be highlighting this in our campaigns. We will participate in global trade exhibitions to raise the visibility of SmartCity Malta. There will be an optimal mix of marketing vehicles and approaches to achieve the most efficient way for meeting SmartCity's business objectives."
One thing that should attract companies should be the deployment of the most cutting-edge communication infrastructure in SCM.
"The service offering for companies in SmartCity Malta is under development," said the executive director of SmartCity. "We will facilitate the provision of IT and telecom services based on customer demand."
In an interview with a senior official from Dubai a question on job creation is a must. More than a question on whether TECOM can uphold its promise to create 5,600 jobs, the issue from a technological point of view is what kind of tech-related jobs will be created and whether the Maltese human resources pool is enough to satisfy the anticipated demand.
"The project will generate a large number of jobs and we hope sufficient talent will be generated within Malta to cater to this demand," replied the executive director of SmartCity.
"We understand that Maltese educational institutions are gearing up for the large demand for knowledge workers that the project will generate. We understand this is a national priority and we believe the government is concentrating all resources to meet this challenge."
Mr Abdulrahman said he was "pleased" to note the setting up of a new and totally dedicated ICT faculty at the University of Malta and the Lm50 million new Mcast campus to host 10,000 students.
"We hope this initiative will contribute to generating more talent," he concluded.
The first buildings to be erected at Ricasoli include the office of Smart City Malta and office space to house around 500 employees of the first companies settling here within the next two years.
However, how many of us have a good idea of what SCM will provide in terms of information technology and communication services? We've heard about the number of promised jobs, we analysed the site plans, our imagination was fired by the artistic impressions, but what kind of ICT and ancillary services will be provided to attract the right companies that will make or break the whole concept of a SmartCity in Malta?
The right man to answer these types of questions is Fareed Abdulrahman, the executive director of SmartCity, the joint venture between TECOM Investments and Sama Dubai. I-Tech caught up with him as soon as Ricasoli was being turned into the first European outpost for SmartCity.
He has been at the helm of SmartCity since February but was also part of the core team that developed the value proposition of Dubai Internet City.
The first question comes easy. How will SCM compare to Dubai Media City and Dubai Internet City in terms of facilities and incentives offered to prospective tenants?
"SmartCity Malta addresses a completely different region," explained Mr Abdulrahman. "While SCM is a knowledge-based industry hub for the Mediterranean region, Dubai Internet City and Dubai Media City are ICT and media hubs for the Middle East."
Nonetheless, SCM will be based on the successful models of the two cities. The core concept behind the last two is a knowledge-based industry cluster where companies enjoy a supportive infrastructure and environment that can help them develop and grow faster. The same concept is at the heart of SCM.
"We will be bringing to SmartCity Malta several concepts that have been successful in Dubai Internet City and Dubai Media City. One of these concepts is the one-stop-shop," he revealed to i-Tech.
"The idea behind this concept is to provide a range of support services from a single window that will help businesses eliminate operational hassles in setting up and running a company so that they can focus on their time and energy on their core competencies and their core business."
The Maltese government will be facilitating the one-stop-shop concept through a government services unit or GSU in SCM. This unit, which will operate hand in hand with the various ministries, will be offering a range of support services like business set-up, licensing, registration and incorporation services from a single window.
Mr Abdulrahman confirmed that a few international companies have expressed their interest in setting up shop in SmartCity Malta, but it is a bit too early to reveal their names.
"SmartCity Malta welcomes any company in the knowledge-based industry which is interested in long-term investment in Malta and the Mediterranean region."
He explained that, to attract companies to SCM, a marketing and branding campaign would be waged on two fronts. On one front, there will be a campaign to raise the profile of SCM as a brand. On another front, SmartCity will work with the Maltese government and Malta Enterprise to promote Malta as a hub for the knowledge-based industry in the Mediterranean.
SCM's marketing campaign will be a global effort. The campaign in Europe will be simultaneous with the campaigns in other markets.
"In our campaigns, we will be promoting Malta as a hub from which knowledge-based companies can target markets in the entire Mediterranean region," explained Mr Abdulrahman. "Malta's strategic geographic location at the centre of this region gives it the ability to be a hub and we will be highlighting this in our campaigns. We will participate in global trade exhibitions to raise the visibility of SmartCity Malta. There will be an optimal mix of marketing vehicles and approaches to achieve the most efficient way for meeting SmartCity's business objectives."
One thing that should attract companies should be the deployment of the most cutting-edge communication infrastructure in SCM.
"The service offering for companies in SmartCity Malta is under development," said the executive director of SmartCity. "We will facilitate the provision of IT and telecom services based on customer demand."
In an interview with a senior official from Dubai a question on job creation is a must. More than a question on whether TECOM can uphold its promise to create 5,600 jobs, the issue from a technological point of view is what kind of tech-related jobs will be created and whether the Maltese human resources pool is enough to satisfy the anticipated demand.
"The project will generate a large number of jobs and we hope sufficient talent will be generated within Malta to cater to this demand," replied the executive director of SmartCity.
"We understand that Maltese educational institutions are gearing up for the large demand for knowledge workers that the project will generate. We understand this is a national priority and we believe the government is concentrating all resources to meet this challenge."
Mr Abdulrahman said he was "pleased" to note the setting up of a new and totally dedicated ICT faculty at the University of Malta and the Lm50 million new Mcast campus to host 10,000 students.
"We hope this initiative will contribute to generating more talent," he concluded.
The first buildings to be erected at Ricasoli include the office of Smart City Malta and office space to house around 500 employees of the first companies settling here within the next two years.