Dr Gatt, the Minister for IT, had certainly hit a rich vein in 2006 when he signed up with Tecom in connection with the SmartCity project. The project, now well into its third year of construction, is modelled on Dubai Internet City (DIC), which is a strategic base for 700 IT companies that include giants like Microsoft, HP, IBM, Dell, Siemens, Canon, Sony Ericsson and Cisco − targeting nearby markets. The project transformed the derelict Ricasoli Industrial Estate into a state-of-the-art ICT and media park.
In 2006, when pressed for comments, Dr Gatt said that 33 per cent of the land would not be built up at all and be publicly-accessible open spaces that would be landscaped into parks. It all began in February 2006 when Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi announced a key project in the southern part of the island just a couple of weeks before the local elections fell due. At the same time, we were informed that if everything went according to plan, Tecom Investments aimed to generate 5,600 new jobs, 65 per cent of which would be knowledge industry based. Perhaps the 2008 global recession that followed in September of that year changed the predictions when one remembers how the property sector in many parts of European and including Dubai plummeted. Still, the vision of a massive ICT project in Malta has its credits.
With hindsight and with an early election looming, are we surprised that so many Jeremiahs are lambasting the project while the government is enthusiastic about having secured such a prestigious project. In retrospect, we cannot but recall that in the late seventies, computers and anything associated with them were disparaged during the Labour administration. Then, with over 20,000 unemployed, computers were potentially feared as replacing jobs. Thirty years later, seeing Malta surging ahead in technological advances, one wonders how much attitudes have changed and we can look forward to unfreeze our past isolationist mentality. This is manifested by the enthusiasm Mepa showed when it approved the project in October 2008, just two months after the environment impact assessment was issued for public consultation. By any standards, it was done in record time considering it was such a massive project. Still, many blame the lack of success in sales and marketing of SmartCity due to the fact that Dubai Holdings still had to learn about both Malta and the global IT industry.
Unlike Dubai, where the location itself drew multinationals, Malta requires a very different approach to attract a very sophisticated segment of the IT industry. It won’t work as a simple corporate real estate project because Malta itself doesn’t have the gravity to pull IT companies into its orbit. But there are other ways. Some commentators argue that as the original idea was too much of ‘build-it-and-they-shall-come’, the global recession that followed did not help to attract investors and of course this compounded the problem. But to have the foresight and build an internationally attractive IT centre in a small island on the periphery of Europe was an ambitious task. Information Technology is a large industry with many layers and with many needs: it doesn’t have to be filled with Tier 1 multinationals to be a success. It is consoling that as long as Dubai Holdings has the will to succeed, it does have the corporate resources to fulfil the vision of Smart City. The only thing that could sap that corporate will would be a hostile or counter-productive environment resulting from internal detractors who secretly pray for its failure.
An encouraging can-do attitude can only come from better marketing efforts from Malta Enterprise. Our success beckons just remember how we attracted Tecom, Oracle, Microsoft and others to zoom in on this tiny latter day Singapore. Hewlett-Packard (HP) has recently joined SmartCity Malta where it will have a project office implementing the firm’s latest products and services in the region. Leading the cloud computing era, HP said it would be offering the hybrid cloud services for SmartCity Malta and its business partners to balance the affordability and flexibility found in the public cloud and the security and confidentiality assured by the private cloud models. SmartCity Malta CEO Fareed Abdulrahman said HP “is the ideal business partner as SmartCity Malta offers the best in terms of quality, connectivity and access to key markets”. He added that the growth potential in Malta, the Mediterranean region and in North Africa made SmartCity Malta a very strategic location for a company like HP. More will follow even though in the post euro crisis it is becoming more difficult to negotiate a similar deal with international investors in order to raise the island’s international profile as a hub for technological excellence.
With careful planning, it would be smart if we copied the Irish development agency that in the past had vigorously organised road shows to attract outside investment. Investors now include giants such as Procter & Gamble, Elan Pharmaceuticals, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Dell, HP, Microsoft, eBay and SAP, among others. Can Malta follow suit now that we have tasted the first success of attracting SmartCity. A lot depends on Malta Enterprise and the team at Dar Malta in Brussels to help attract investors. Naturally, equally important are the millions invested by the education department to introduce more ICT training facilities, thus paving the way for a steady flow of qualified engineers, mathematicians, chemists and ICT specialists. It goes without saying that in the euro crisis and in the aftermath of severe austerity measures suffered by a number of debt-ridden European countries, it is not so easy for Malta Enterprise to succeed. But with the right tools and motivation it can continue to knock on doors and attend fairs to aggressively market Malta’s advantages. As an example, five years ago Intel was persuaded to build its largest unit in Ireland employing over 5,500 specialised IT workers on its payroll. Their average salary was €43,000 when ours is less than €23,000. This means that we can still compete on salaries should we offer equally skilled knowledge workers.
Naturally, more investment does not only mean building more schools and recreational areas for students. It means retooling our laboratories, retraining our ageing teaching community and energetically seeking transfer of ICT technologies. Commentators state that advances in underlying Internet technologies show no sign of slowing down. The awesome power of computer chips continues to race ahead. In view of this challenge, Malta must continue to address the digital divide and boost information and communication skills among the grassroots. Malta boasts top-notch legislation in the fields of e-commerce, data protection and protection of intellectual property rights. Can our shining star in the cyberspace firmament ever aspire to become a centre of digital excellence mirroring the success of India and Singapore?
To conclude, any politician canvassing for votes who doesn’t believe we are facing a very difficult situation with the euro crisis and credit crunch and cheekily promises heaven on earth to voters is living in cuckoo land. Furthermore, as a general rule, freedom and access to information is the best deterrent to fight corruption and abuse of power. After Ronald Regan stepped down as America’s president, he said... “the Goliath of totalitarism will be brought down by the David of the microchip...”. Now that we have attracted SmartCity investment, let us herald the birth of a tiny star that was born in cyberspace. Forget the Jeremiahs whose sole intention is to discourage us by painting a picture of doom and gloom. We augur that our efforts will soon attract other investors joining forces to enable an independent Malta draw level with the Singapore Tiger.
The writer is a partner in
PKFMALTA, an audit
and business advisory firm
[email protected]