Mepa gives green light to SmartCity project

Mepa yesterday gave SmartCity Malta the green light for the development of Malta's first ICT City in the former Ricasoli industrial estate.

The master plan for the outline application includes the development of office space, residential units, hotels and related short-stay accommodation facilities, together with the necessary resort-based leisure, sports and fitness facilities, retail and associated commercial floor space, public open spaces, roads and underground parking facilities.

This mix of land use is intended to reduce the need to travel, create a cohesive community and achieve a high degree of self-containment required for developing a sustainable community.

The planning application, which was subject to an environmental impact assessment and transport impact statement, also includes the restoration and protection of a number of World War II defence buildings, which fall within the site area and can be incorporated in the holistic development of the project.

The authority also approved SmartCity Malta's first full development application for the construction of building SCM 01. This development will feature 12,000 square metres of ready-to-operate, state-of-the-art office space and will be the base for companies catering for the European and North African region.

SmartCity welcomed the decision by Mepa. SmartCity Malta CEO Claudio Grech described the decision as another important step in the transformation of Ricasoli into SmartCity Malta and the southern side of Malta into the major ICT and media destination in the region.

Thanking those who assisted in the process, SmartCity CEO Fareed Abdulrahman, acknowledged that, due to their magnitude, the applications were challenging and demanding on all those involved.