Smart City’s business prospects for next year look bright with the company set to announce more tenants in the coming weeks, according to Smart City CEO Anthony Tabone.
Announced in the run up to the 2008 general election, the project, which represents the biggest single foreign direct investment in Malta’s history, is yet to live up to its billing.
At the time both Tecom Investments from Dubai and the Nationalist administration had said that at least 5,600 jobs would be created once the project was in full swing.
If we can maintain this momentum, we have a very exciting year ahead of us
Five years down the line doubts have surfaced over whether the project was still on track even though Tecom has to date invested €76 million.
During the last election campaign the Labour Party repeatedly criticised the government for not insisting enough with the Dubai investors to honour their pledges, especially on job creation.
The Sunday Times of Malta met with Mr Tabone at Smart City in Kalkara, which for the second year running will be hosting a number of events to raise funds for L-Istrina on December 26. The main attraction this year will be the large laguna with synchronised water fountains which will be inaugurated in spring.
To date there are 15 tenants operating from Smart City including Global College, Cisco, Hewlett Packard and Cittadella Films. Mr Tabone explained that a number of tenants who have already signed the agreement will be moving into the new offices in the coming months.
The Smart City CEO said that with the project taking shape, the take-up of office space had significantly increased, especially in the past four months. He added that the tenancy take-up was on track, expressing that he was “comfortably happy” with the results achieved so far.
“If we can maintain this momentum, we have a very exciting year ahead of us,” he said. Though saying that it was premature to give more details, he revealed that a German back office company and Italian telecom company would soon announce their intention to open at Smart City.
Mr Tabone said that once the agreements were finalised an announcement would follow, probably in a month’s time.
Probed about the number of jobs created so far which are in the region of 500, he said that up to four months ago only 4,000 square metres had been committed. The Smart City CEO said that with 15,000 square metres up for grabs now that the first two blocks have been completed, there was potential of creating some 1,500 jobs.
The Dubai investors are also banking on the fact that with such a strategic location next to the sea surrounded by what he described as a “five-star environment”, investors are much more likely to be persuaded them to invest in Malta rather than in another country.
The entire project will be eventually linked to the Xgħajra promenade, through a one-kilometre promenade. The company is also aiming to inaugurate the laguna by next summer, when the retail outlets around it including coffee shops and restaurants will be open, making it one of the major attractions in the south of the island.