When Parliament approves the Smart City resolution on Tuesday it will be closing an era in the Maltese economy and opening a new one.

A justifiably upbeat Minister Austin Gatt was speaking in an interview to this newspaper last week. Smart City, he states, is the realisation of a vision that began back in 1999 with massive investment in IT, notwithstanding the “Jeremiads” from associations and bodies who doubted whether Malta would make it, that Malta just did not have the resources – the same approach many had to EU membership in short: doubt about what Malta can or cannot do.

But by preparing and building the infrastructure, boosting the educational effort, offering the right inducements, using the new clout that EU membership has provided and by searching for the right strategic partner, Smart City has been attracted to Malta and, come Tuesday, it will start to be a reality.

Following Tuesday’s (hopefully positive) vote, the next appointment will be the official signing of the deed. This depends upon the travel programme of Tecom Investments executive chairman Ahmad bin Byat who has recently been appointed Secretary of the government’s Executive Council, in practice the Cabinet, and so has many commitments.

Following the signing, an outline application will be lodged with MEPA, which should give its response within 60 days, followed by the submission of a full development application and the final MEPA approval.

A separate application will be lodged within days to start the demolition of the Ricasoli factories. This will enable the first work to start in the coming months. Tecom’s commitment is that within 18 months of the signing, the first 8,000 sq m of office space will be handed over. Work will continue on the other sites of the development.

The parliamentary vote on Tuesday will thus bring to a conclusion what may in time be seen as the real way in which Malta has to operate to make a real change.

The death of traditional manufacturing has fortunately coincided with the search for a new economic locomotive for Malta.

Smart City at Malta will now be launched massively in Europe, probably after summer. It will provide further positive vibes about Malta in the international community just as Jean Philippe Courtois, the Microsoft boss told European government leaders and Microsoft top officials: “I have been to Malta and am impressed”.

That is branding, real branding, Dr Gatt said. You cannot buy that kind of praise. Malta will thus become a centre of excellence in Europe with regard to IT. If everyone worth mentioning in IT goes to Dubai to become part of Tecom, they will now come here because Malta is closer to Europe than Dubai, and also because Malta offers entry into Europe, which Dubai cannot do.

Once established, Smart City Malta will be well positioned to receive interested parties from all over the world and should be well-prepared to give prompt responses to their demands and queries.

There will surely be spillover to Maltese companies but these must be well prepared to take on the additional work that will come. ICT companies in Malta can all get outsourcing from Smart City Malta just as only one-third of ICT work in Dubai is done in Smart City. The opportunities are huge but local companies must have the courage to take up the challenge.

Dr Gatt also hopes, somewhat forebodingly, that people in Malta do not see Smart City and anything connected to it as being made of gold and ready for plundering, just as has been done with tourists. This would be, once again, killing the goose that lays the golden eggs and ultimately will scare off would-be investors.