A golf course is in the country's interest

Dr David E. Zammit (The Sunday Times, May 23) clearly shows that he is not aware of all the facts regarding the proposed golf course at Rabat or he is misinterpreting them. His main concerns are the Church-State agreement, the environment, the tenants and the water supply.

Dr Zammit is not aware that many properties transferred to the Joint Office under an agreement between the Church and the government of Malta have been sold for commercial, industrial and residential uses. All he has to do is to carry out simple researches at the Public Registry and unearth the hundreds of these sales.

For example, the freehold title of the Verdala Hotel Complex was transferred from the Joint Office after a public call to tender, as was a large section of the 200 tumoli earmarked for the development of small industries parks. Similarly, there are hundreds of plots for the development of villas. I hope that at least he agrees that these are profit-making developments and not for social needs.

Dr Zammit is interpreting only a section of this agreement. The detailed agreement allows for various types of uses with strict emphasis prohibiting use for gaming and immoral activities. The agreement also allows for a proper procedure to be followed in case of uncertainty. As a solution was found for other similar cases, the competent authorities would surely find a similar solution in this case.

Dr Zammit's other main concern was the supply of water. He refers to the additional requirement of 77,000 m3 of water for each year as very high. The figure is equivalent to a fraction of the total water consumption and 0.4% of the official figure of groundwater extracted each year. Only God knows the actual figure of the water being extracted illegally. This figure is comparable to the consumption of three hotels each year.

The other figures mentioned in his article refer to the various sources of supply and it definitely does not mean we shall be making use of all these sources of water. Dr Zammit should be more concerned about the 34 million m3 of fresh water being produced but ending up in the open sea as sewage without being recycled.

Today's technology can recycle sewage water into drinking quality. In fact one of our proposals is to make use of treated effluent together with a large water reservoir to catch part of the huge amount of run-off rain water that ends up wasted in the sea. If he reads the elaborate EIA, he should note that we shall not interfere with the ground water, which is currently being used by the farmers/tenants. Furthermore, should we require any non-treated water from the Water Services Corporation, this would be at a commercial rate and not as he is assuming.

The environment - I fully agree that we should protect the environment as much as we can. That is why we have been asked by MEPA to carry out an extensive EIA. The exhaustive terms of reference were dealt with by 15 professional inter-national and local consultants all experts in their field. The planning of the golf course was only possible after field studies were carried out and various discussions were held between the consultants.

The EIA states that the rubble walls would have to be reconstructed or repaired, since these are currently in a dilapidated state. The topography is not going to change. Only a third of the land would be used for the actual fairways, a third would still be retained by farmers-tenants, while the other third is earmarked for buffer zones between the farmland and the golf course, rubble walls, services areas, etc.

During the winter time, one would hardly notice the difference between the current landscape and that of the planned project. During summer time, it would look greener, but are we going to oppose a greener scenery? We would still retain the texture of colours because of the mixture of the proposed planned vineyards that are at their best and green in summer season as well.

The unfortunate thing is that not many can visualise a golf course intertwined with the existing topo-graphy. Many only refer to the Marsa golf course which is flat because of the nature of the terrain. Golf courses can be planned taking into account the existing constraints, and in fact some golf courses are built in the desert.

One has to keep in mind that the existing terracing at Rabat was man-made and not made by nature. Our objective is to enhance what our forefathers have developed over the years. Golf courses are made up of the same 'construction' as those of agricultural land. Made up of soil, vegetation and water. The EIA demonstrates that the amount of fertilizer for the proposed golf course is much less than what the tenants are currently using.

Dr Zammit should take note that there is not even one full-time farmer who depends for his living on this area only. There are seven full-time farmers, who have some of their fields in this area but the majority of the farmers are part-timers.

The Agriculture study of the EIA reveals the type of agriculture produce that has been harvested over the years and concludes the approximate income (not profit) from the affected area is Lm50,000 in a good year.

AX Holdings shall be guaranteeing that each tenant would be better off financially than he is today. Either by way of the plantation of vineyards, by a cash contribution or in certain cases some tenants may opt to continue tilling the land. Ninety per cent of the farmers/tenants whom AX Holdings approached had preferred a cash contribution rather than the other options. As I said earlier, a third of the land is still earmarked for agriculture.

This means that having a golf course results in better land use. Farmers and tenants will be better off while additional millions of liri are generated by the tourism industry.

What Dr Zammit did not mention is that the tourism industry, which is the backbone of our economy, is crying out for another golf course to strengthen the winter and shoulder periods. The industry knows that golf courses attract prestigious conferences during these crucial months.

This does not mean that every conference delegate would be playing golf. These delegates would naturally visit our other attractions, including our heritage. We just cannot attract a better class of tourist without offering what they would be expecting. Competition between tourist-oriented countries is stiff and unless we put our heads together and offer the right facilities and services that the industry is indicating, then we are fooling ourselves.

The MEPA Structure Plan also indicates that we need more golf courses. In fact the draft Structure Plan points to the area below the Verdala Hotel as one of the preferred sites for a golf course. Several studies were carried out by various authorities and all have ended up giving preference to the Verdala site.

In conclusion, the question is not whether we should build another golf course or courses, but where. It seems that Dr Zammit is not aware that a public tender was issued in 1997 when there were 12 valid applications. Eventually, the appointed adjudicating committee gave its recommendation for the Verdala site as the best location together with Ta' Cenc in Gozo.

These recommendations were approved by the Cabinet and the MEPA board (then the Planning Authority) had given its approval to proceed with the application for the Verdala Site and had ordered the exhaustive terms of reference for an EIA which took three years to finalise and be confirmed as complete.

The benefits of the golf course shall be shared by all those involved in the tourism industry and not just by one partner of the consortium who is interested to develop the golf course. If we, as a nation, want to compete with our neighbouring countries and generate wealth for the welfare of us all, then we must think ahead and act for the benefit of our country.

We should not just complain about problems and do nothing to solve them. It would be far more interesting and fruitful if one respects what the experts in the field have to say and propose, and then engage in discussion to create a sustainable project that would be enjoyed by our future generations.

Remember that it is much easier to be a talker than to be a doer.

Mr Xuereb is chairman of AX Holdings Ltd.