€3 million to be invested in new BMIT offices at Smart City

Economy minister Chris Cardona addressed a press conference this morning where he announced a €3 million investment in a BMIT data centre at Smart City earlier. 

"This investment is not just positive for the company but it is important for the development of the local economy as well," Cardona said. 

"These investments conform to and strengthen the positive economic development of the country and the government's commitment to developing and strengthening Smart City and the ICT sector in the country,"

Cardona said that BMIT is already an established company in Malta and it has continued to invest in its expansion over the past few years. 

"2014 saw a significant number of companies making such investments, with a total of 73 local companies turning to Malta Enterprise and having their projects approved," he said, adding that there had also been a rise in new projects incorporating both foreign and local investment - an estimated €143 million and 2,500 new employment opportunities in three years. 

Christian Sammut, the CEO of BMIT, said that this was an especially important day investment for the company to continue asserting itself as the strongest data centre in Malta. 

"We cater for companies in various sectors, including online gaming and financial services, among others," Sammut said, adding that the investment would allow the company to create a data centre with over 150 racks.

"This will bring our company's total to 500 racks, which makes it the biggest company of its kind on the island. "

Sammut explained that the company offered services in data storage, back-up services, hosting and colocation to various sectors and countries, and that the investment aimed to attract even more investment, both from companies already at Smart City and from others.

During the tour of the building site, Sammut also explained that the aim was for the offices to be fully functional by October this year.

Anthony Tabone, the CEO of Smart City, added that the company's vision was very much in line with that of Smart City as a whole as it focused on strengthening the economy while offering better employment opportunities at the same time.