The SmartCity project is on target, and the official opening of the first building will take place on 10 October this year, to coincide with the 10th anniversary of the Dubai Internet City.

In a world still facing tough economic and financial difficulties, this was some good news for Malta. And, thankfully, it was followed up quickly with National Statistics Office figures that indicate that whereas gross domestic product statistics for the first three quarters of 2009 had been shrinking, there was a positive growth of 2.4 per cent between October and December.

Back to SmartCity. The good news is more so considering that this project has, since its inception, been shrouded in controversy and, lately, in rumours that not all was well. There was a time when the government was criticised for embarking on what was then described, by the Labour Party, as a property development project, and it took a while for it to sink in that the idea was to have a complex which grouped several top companies offering value-added services. This fell in line with the government strategy to move away from low-end manufacturing to high-end industry.

The crisis that hit Dubai last year served another blow to the expectations until it was ascertained that the difficulties would not have affected the project at Ricasoli.

Tecom has always been strong in its reassurances that there was nothing wrong with the project, that there was nothing to fear, and that it was all going as planned. Each time some story emerged in the media to create doubts on the completion of the project, Tecom was always ready to issue statements to put everyone’s mind at rest that all was in place.

A few days ago, when Minister Gatt visited the site, it was confirmed once again that the project is well in hand and that this, in the minister’s words, “was a milestone in how our economy is changing to become focused on high value-added services”.

That the construction of the complex is on target can be seen from the fact that the first building will be completed in July, a full 15 months before the original scheduled date of October 2011, according to the minister. The first companies are expected to move in sometime in September or early in October.

It is not only the physical building that is on target, but also the plans to give it life. And, in fact, meetings with potential SmartCity investors have been going on for quite a while and will continue through visits to several countries in the next few months. Visits to China, Australia, Korea and Japan will hopefully lead to greater interest in the project.

One of the most important aspects of the project is that it will be creating some 5,600 jobs over a span of a few years. This, in itself, should guarantee opportunities for the younger generations who are completing their studies and also to other workers who see the opening of SmartCity as a chance to make a career move.

Added to this, SmartCity, with its shopping boulevards and residential areas, will also serve to generate more business in the south of Malta. It is often said that the south of the country has been neglected, and that only the least-wanted projects are set up there.

Well, SmartCity is a project that will go a long way towards removing this tag.