Full occupancy at Smart City by end of year

Occupancy of the completed phase of Smart City increased from 15 per cent just after the election to 70 per cent in one year and full occupancy was being targeted for the end of the year, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said this morning. Speaking during a visit, he said that the government met Tecom Investments, both before and after the election and it was seeing Smart City as a national project rather than private investment. Dr Muscat noted that the government representative on the board was his chief of staff Keith Schembri. The government, he said, felt the need to fast track the decision-making process and reduce bureaucracy. It was also marketing the place and encouraging investors to consider Smart City. The Prime Minister said that the government did not want Smart City to be “a gated community”. Therefore, it invested in a Laguna and promenade and left the place open to the public. More than 20,000 people visited during one of the last weekends, he said.