SmartCity Malta, in Ricasoli, will release the first office space for local and international ICT companies to operate from 2010, thus concluding phase one of the project, officially launched on Saturday.
"SmartCity Malta will be attracting a mix of international, regional and local organisations. When specifically speaking of the ICT sector, however, SmartCity Malta will target six distinct segments," explained Fareed Abdulrahman, the chief executive officer of SmartCity, in Dubai. "These segments are strategically divided into companies that specialise in software, internet & multimedia, telecommunication & network, IT services, business process outsourcing (BPOs) and hardware."
However, Mr Abdulrahman could not confirm the name of the first company that will be operating from the 12,000 square metres of office space in Ricasoli.
"We are currently in discussions with local and international organisations and, once agreements are reached, we will be announcing them."
A couple of months ago IT Minister Austin Gatt had hinted that Microsoft would be one of the first companies to set up shop there.
Phase one will be totally focused on the building of office space, including what is being termed as ICT Plaza.
"In SmartCity Malta, the ICT Plaza is one of the most important components to create the right environment for knowledge workers to network, interact and leverage their unique capabilities. We have hence, incorporated such facilities in the SmartCity Malta master plan," said Mr Abdulrahman. "Other than the ICT Plaza, we also have an amphitheatre, lagoon and ample open green spaces where knowledge workers can network. This model has been proven successful for the knowledge workers in Dubai Internet City and Dubai Media City and in Dubai Knowledge Village for students and academic professionals."
Last Sunday the board of directors of SmartCity Malta approved the appointment of Claudio Grech, former head of secretariat of Minister Austin Gatt, as chief executive officer of the company. At the same meeting the directors reportedly discussed the construction of phase one of the project, focusing primarily on the aspects related to the development of the infrastructure, health and safety frameworks, and environment sustainability.
"For years now, SmartCity has adopted globally benchmarked environmentally-friendly practices that will make SmartCity Malta, and all its entities, highly energy- and resource-efficient. SmartCity designs, constructs and operates all its entities according to the guidelines of Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED(R)) - the world's premier certification programme for sustainable buildings. All the construction consultants for SmartCity's projects will be directed to incorporate LEED(R) guidelines in the design and construction of its buildings."
Mr Abdulrahman revealed that SmartCity Malta will deploy the latest technologies with high redundancy and high security. The whole campus will be connected using highly redundant fibre providing advanced ICT services. SmartCity Malta will provide high bandwidth to resident companies and would deploy Smart Home technologies for the residential compounds.
However, he ruled out any preferential treatment for Go in the provision of this infrastructure, and he insisted on a transparent tendering process with specifications based on the needs of the tenants. Tecom Investments, the majority shareholder of Go, the largest communications operator in Malta, is also the same joint owner of SmartCity in Dubai.
The CEO of SmartCity reiterated that Maltese citizens will be given preferential treatment when applying for the 5,600 jobs to be generated at SmartCity Malta, as promised by the executive chairman of Tecom Investments Ahmad Bin Byat, immediately after the signing of SmartCity Malta agreement with the Government of Malta.
"He had stated that whenever a Maltese citizen has the right requisites for the job, then a Maltese citizen will be engaged. SmartCity Malta has further confirmed this. Its team on the ground here in Malta is fully Maltese."
The impression given at Saturday's launch is that both SmartCity Malta and the Maltese government want to speed things up rather than just meet the deadlines. However, this may put an additional strain on the Maltese education system that is trying to churn out as many qualified students in ICT as possible to fill the posts being presented to Maltese citizens.
This does not worry the least Mr Abdulrahman. While recognising the efforts by the Maltese government, he added that "On our part as SmartCity Malta, we have now established direct contact with both University of Malta and Mcast. Last month also marked the launch of an ongoing information campaign about SmartCity Malta. Four sessions were held with circa 250 educators explaining our vision for SmartCity Malta which will be the first self-sustained business township to foster the knowledge economy."
"SmartCity Malta will be attracting a mix of international, regional and local organisations. When specifically speaking of the ICT sector, however, SmartCity Malta will target six distinct segments," explained Fareed Abdulrahman, the chief executive officer of SmartCity, in Dubai. "These segments are strategically divided into companies that specialise in software, internet & multimedia, telecommunication & network, IT services, business process outsourcing (BPOs) and hardware."
However, Mr Abdulrahman could not confirm the name of the first company that will be operating from the 12,000 square metres of office space in Ricasoli.
"We are currently in discussions with local and international organisations and, once agreements are reached, we will be announcing them."
A couple of months ago IT Minister Austin Gatt had hinted that Microsoft would be one of the first companies to set up shop there.
Phase one will be totally focused on the building of office space, including what is being termed as ICT Plaza.
"In SmartCity Malta, the ICT Plaza is one of the most important components to create the right environment for knowledge workers to network, interact and leverage their unique capabilities. We have hence, incorporated such facilities in the SmartCity Malta master plan," said Mr Abdulrahman. "Other than the ICT Plaza, we also have an amphitheatre, lagoon and ample open green spaces where knowledge workers can network. This model has been proven successful for the knowledge workers in Dubai Internet City and Dubai Media City and in Dubai Knowledge Village for students and academic professionals."
Last Sunday the board of directors of SmartCity Malta approved the appointment of Claudio Grech, former head of secretariat of Minister Austin Gatt, as chief executive officer of the company. At the same meeting the directors reportedly discussed the construction of phase one of the project, focusing primarily on the aspects related to the development of the infrastructure, health and safety frameworks, and environment sustainability.
"For years now, SmartCity has adopted globally benchmarked environmentally-friendly practices that will make SmartCity Malta, and all its entities, highly energy- and resource-efficient. SmartCity designs, constructs and operates all its entities according to the guidelines of Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED(R)) - the world's premier certification programme for sustainable buildings. All the construction consultants for SmartCity's projects will be directed to incorporate LEED(R) guidelines in the design and construction of its buildings."
Mr Abdulrahman revealed that SmartCity Malta will deploy the latest technologies with high redundancy and high security. The whole campus will be connected using highly redundant fibre providing advanced ICT services. SmartCity Malta will provide high bandwidth to resident companies and would deploy Smart Home technologies for the residential compounds.
However, he ruled out any preferential treatment for Go in the provision of this infrastructure, and he insisted on a transparent tendering process with specifications based on the needs of the tenants. Tecom Investments, the majority shareholder of Go, the largest communications operator in Malta, is also the same joint owner of SmartCity in Dubai.
The CEO of SmartCity reiterated that Maltese citizens will be given preferential treatment when applying for the 5,600 jobs to be generated at SmartCity Malta, as promised by the executive chairman of Tecom Investments Ahmad Bin Byat, immediately after the signing of SmartCity Malta agreement with the Government of Malta.
"He had stated that whenever a Maltese citizen has the right requisites for the job, then a Maltese citizen will be engaged. SmartCity Malta has further confirmed this. Its team on the ground here in Malta is fully Maltese."
The impression given at Saturday's launch is that both SmartCity Malta and the Maltese government want to speed things up rather than just meet the deadlines. However, this may put an additional strain on the Maltese education system that is trying to churn out as many qualified students in ICT as possible to fill the posts being presented to Maltese citizens.
This does not worry the least Mr Abdulrahman. While recognising the efforts by the Maltese government, he added that "On our part as SmartCity Malta, we have now established direct contact with both University of Malta and Mcast. Last month also marked the launch of an ongoing information campaign about SmartCity Malta. Four sessions were held with circa 250 educators explaining our vision for SmartCity Malta which will be the first self-sustained business township to foster the knowledge economy."