Is SmartCity project slipping?

It is important that the SmartCity project succeeds as there are hundreds of students who are pinning their hopes of finding employment over the next few years on the success of this project. I am told that students applying for courses in computer studies have soared in the last two years both at Mcast and in other private educational institutes.

The Labour Party always looked at this project positively despite attempts by the Nationalist Party to spin the idea that Labour was against all projects initiated by this Administration. As a loyal and democratic opposition we always made our voices heard against the risk of turning this project into a real estate venture that amounted to no more than speculative use of prime that the government donated to Tecom.

So the news that the foundations of what will eventually be 12,000 square metres of office buildings have been laid is welcome indeed. One hopes that this office complex will indeed be ready by 2010 and that the new tenants will start using the new offices soon afterwards.

Similarly, the recent renewed commitment by Tecom to support this project despite problems being encountered in Dubai, is welcome news too for all of us who want this investment to deliver most of what has been promised.

Very much less welcome is the news that senior executives of SmartCity seem to be packing their bags and seeking green pastures. Do they know something that we should know? Is there friction building up between the Smart City investors and their staff who were selected to set up the project in Malta?

All these questions need to be answered if we are really to feel comfortable with the way this project is evolving. The rumoured departure of the SmartCity CEO needs to be clearly denied or confirmed if the uncertainty that is slowly but surely building up on the project is to be dissipated.

It would also be reassuring if the investors update the Maltese public and the Maltese government on how successful they have been so far in attracting good names in information and communications technology to this project. The marketing of this project in the ITC world is a critical success factor that will make or break this investment. The silence of the investors and of the Maltese government on this issue is not reassuring at all. After all, excluding the value of the land, which is substantial, a lot of taxpayer's money has been invested in the project in terms of infrastructure to service the project itself. Therefore, full disclosure of the situation is definitely warranted.

While one should discount a good part of the political rhetoric about the 5,000 or so jobs that this investment is projected to create in the next few years, we cannot afford to be left in the dark on whether this project is really progressing or slipping. One can understand that the recent world recession that has hit every sector has undoubtedly had an impact on the investment appetite of ITC companies. However, this lull in interest should not last long and it is important to continue to market this project vigorously. The real estate development side of this project should never become the prime aim of the investors if we are to reap at least part of the promised benefits.

When both public and private productive investment has so obviously been diminishing in the last few years we cannot afford to let the investment that has already been committed to fall back.

Although the government is not the principal mover in this investment by a private foreign company it obviously has an interest to update us on how things are moving. It was, after all, through a high profile political decision that this project was launched.

While we wish every success for this and other projects that promise to generate more employment for our young people, the PL will continue to press for clarifications and updates to ensure we are not faced with nasty surprises in a few months' or years' time.

We will do this because we do not want the dreams of our young people who want to build a career in ITC to be shattered.

This article was written before the resignation of Claudio Grech, chief executive of SmartCity Malta which was announced yesterday.

Dr Mangion is Shadow Minister of Finance