Claudio Grech, a former senior official in the secretariat of IT Minister Austin Gatt, has been appointed CEO of SmartCity Malta.
Mr Grech confirmed he was in line for the post some time ago, but the decision was formally taken as a meeting of the SmartCity Malta board today.
“I am very privileged and honoured to be appointed to lead such a diversified and challenging project. I have today assured both shareholders that I will deliver my task to the best of my abilities, within the context of national aspirations for the ICT sector,” Mr Grech said.
Mr Grech used to represent the government on the SmartCity board, his seat has been taken over by John Gatt, permanent secretary at the Ministry of the Infrastructure, Transport and Communications (which includes IT). The government is the minority shareholder in the project, whcih is spearheaded by Tecom.
The first phase of the building of SmartCity was launched yesterday evening. The board in a statement today said it had noted the “impressive response and market interest” received from Maltese, regional and international companies looking to relocate their operations to SmartCity Malta.
The positive steps secured to date were a reflection of the successful public-private partnership that is SmartCity Malta, the board said.
The directors held an extensive discussion on the construction of Phase One. The focus was primarily on the development of the infrastructure, health and safety frameworks, and the measures to be adopted to ensure that SmartCity Malta is developed in a sustainable fashion, including the adoption of environment-friendly practices.
Fareed Abdulrahman, CEO of SmartCity group, stressed SmartCity’s commitment to the mutual long-term vision of SmartCity and the Government of Malta stating that “SmartCity Malta will not only be developed in an environmentally sustainable manner, but it will also generate sustainable investments from local, regional and international business partners”.
SmartCity Malta and SmartCity Kochi are the first two projects to be part of the global network of knowledge-based industry townships that SmartCity seeks to develop. This global network will foster productive linkages and tap synergies between knowledge-industry centres worldwide, thereby contributing to economic development.