'After Valletta, it's SmartCity'

The Labour opposition spokesman for planning, Roderick Galdes yesterday hailed the SmartCity project as the greatest city built after Valletta.

The project is a historical landmark for Malta and therefore gives way to a new experience which can be used by future generations, Mr Galdes said.

He added that the Malta Labour Party is ready to offer any cooperation to ensure that the project is a success.

The statement comes in the wake of the green light given to the project by the Malta Environment and Planning Authority on Monday.

The project's environmental credentials were questioned recently by environmentalists who say that the development is nowhere as green as a project of its stature should be.

The developers defended themselves by pointing out that they had explored different technologies before drawing up the master plan for the project and also stressed that the permit issued on Monday is an outline permit.