The Lm100 million SmartCity investment from Dubai is proof of the faith that investors have in Malta and of the capabilities of its workforce, Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi said in Rabat on Thursday evening.

Dr Gonzi said the record investment was also the result of Malta’s membership of the European Union.

The Prime Minister said that within 24 hours, Malta’s economy received two major boosts.

The first, he said, was when EU Finance Commissioner Joaquin Almunia announced that Malta’s economy and finances were heading in the right direction and that the targets set were close to being reached. Then the Investment, Industry and IT minister Austin Gatt announced the deal to set up the SmartCity in Malta – an investment that will create some 5,600 jobs, he said.

He said that these announcements did not come out of the blue.

“They are a result of government policies that have created stability, which in turn attracts investment,” he said.

Dr Gonzi said his government always asked people to judge on results, not idle talk.

“The facts show that a PN government has the solutions to the problems that our country faces today. Dr Sant’s government was a disaster that racked up a debt of some Lm300 million in two years and the measly sum of Lm18 million in foreign direct investment,” he said.

Dr Gonzi said that last year, the country brought in Lm200 million in FDI and had brought the deficit down to under three per cent of GDP.