The keeper of the fort
The man who dared take on the ill-fated Fort Chambray project in Gozo believes that it could be the motor that drives the island's economy forward - but only if decisions are taken to bring the infrastructure up to scratch."Chambray alone will not be...
The man who dared take on the ill-fated Fort Chambray project in Gozo believes that it could be the motor that drives the island's economy forward - but only if decisions are taken to bring the infrastructure up to scratch.
"Chambray alone will not be enough. It requires other investment in the infrastructure, like a marina, a golf course and an air strip. This is the only way to get Gozo into the top tourism market and to encourage investment. Buying an expensive property is still foreign investment as it is still money coming in to the economy," entrepreneur Michael Caruana said.
"We have just as much to offer as Monaco and the Greek islands but we need to take the bull by the horns. No more moaning. Let us see what needs to be done and let's do it! Let's do it!"
Fort Chambray was built by the Knights of St John in the 18th century and was intended to be a city on similar lines to Valletta, with a palace, a parade ground, barracks and a church as well as residential plots - all protected by massive walls.
Dr Caruana took over the project in January 2005 after the site had lain abandoned for years. It had been given in 1993 on a 99-year lease to Fort Chambray Ltd for tourism-related development. A few villas had been constructed but no restoration works had been carried out.
Payments to Bank of Valletta were falling behind (there was still Lm8 million outstanding on the loan) and Dr Caruana approached the private owners, including majority shareholder Roberto Memmo, and the government to buy them out. He eventually bought the project for what he described in an interview at the time as "a bit more" than Lm3.5 million, in addition to taking on responsibility for the loan.
A full development permit was issued in 2005 to ratify the original permit issued to Dr Caruana's predecessors but he has a very different concept planned.
"The proposed layout did not suit what we had in mind as we wanted to create a feel of luxury. The previous designers had crammed too much in. Our approach was to give more value by making the units larger, adding an outdoor pool area and deck, as well as adding much more landscaping.
"We were lucky in that the development was not that advanced and there was still time to make substantial changes. Some other things were already done and were not feasible to change, such as the balconies opposite our offices here. I felt they were much too heavy and we are using much lighter looking designs for the other phases, with softer textures and more natural materials. And we are using a darker wood to create more of a contrast with the light Maltese stone.
"The landscaping also lays considerable emphasis on colour. We spent a lot of money but the results are there to see."
Dr Caruana admitted that it was always tempting to pack more into a development to justify the capital outlay but that it was important to do less and not more.
"In the end, that is what is going to make the difference between success and failure. You have to find the balance between what you want to achieve and the money that you need to finance it.
"We are offering luxury living in a fort dating back to the time of the Knights. You have to combine elegance in keeping with the history of the place, with the comfort you would expect nowadays. There will be fine dining restaurants, a supermarket, and hopefully the five-star deluxe hotel. It will be a concept and not just a resort."
He stresses again and again that his motivation is not purely financial.
"For example, it is not in my interest from an economic point of view to build a hotel. It would be far easier to build apartments and sell them. But a 200-room, five-star hotel with conference facilities, a health and leisure centre and so on will create jobs.
"Let us just hope that we do not have to wait too long for the permits," he said.
Dr Caruana has re-sited the hotel from the centre of the fort to its edge, requiring the demolition of some of the buildings put up by the previous developer. There are considerable swathes of landscaping around a central piazza and the original historic entrance is being restored, offering access to the hotel.
The entire site is pedestrianised with all the access and parking restricted to a vast subterranean level.
In the meantime, work is underway on the final touches to the first phase which has 70 units. So far around 70 per cent of the units have been sold to Gozitans and Maltese as well as to foreigners, he said.
The intention is to complete the whole project within three to four years of the permit.
Dr Caruana is not the type to allow doubts to creep in. He went into the project with enthusiasm and, if anything, this has grown over the past two years. The huge picture windows of his office on the walls of the fort overlook the stunning coast and countryside between Mgarr and Mgarr ix-Xini, which enchanted French President Nicolas Sarkozy so recently.
He gazed at it with the special brand of emotional patriotism that all Gozitans seem to have.
"I have a responsibility to the government, which entrusted me with this project, as well as to Bank of Valletta, which financed it. It was very important to have their trust - especially after all the political controversy associated with the project. I will not let them down."
20070524-business--int1.jpgGozo's less than azure window
The Gozo Business Chamber is urging the government to consider a tourism authority for the island, highlighting the importance of tourism to the economy.
President Michael Caruana upheld the arguments made last week in The Times Business by the Gozo Tourism Association.
"The problem is that Gozo is not sufficiently marketed. The Malta Tourism Authority is based on people who have vested interests in Malta and who will try to fill their own hotels before they try to push people to Gozo. This is perfectly understandable but it is a real injustice to Gozo. We have even heard of potential visitors being told that Gozo is "closed" in winter!
"This means Gozo has to compete not just with rival markets but with Malta itself. This is why I have insisted time and time again that Gozo should have its own tourism authority, with around 15 per cent of the MTA's budget, to promote it as a distinct destination with a distinct brand," he said.
"I have always believed that Gozo should not be looking at quantity. I would prefer to have one fourth the number but have them spend four times as much."
The chamber regularly meets the Gozo Tourism Association. Dr Caruana believes that the chamber is there to promote business in Gozo and anything that can help the island's economy is worth pushing, whether it is tourism, manufacturing or commerce. His greatest concern is the lack of opportunities but he is quite open about the obstacles.
"Efforts have been made to attract investment but it is hard enough to get investment to Malta, let alone to Gozo. Apart from the problem of double insularity, you have to compete with former Eastern bloc countries which are now an integral part of Europe. Getting a manufactured good to the continent takes only hours, whereas it takes almost that long to get it to Malta from Gozo!"
This is not to say he feels there is no future for manufacturing: It just means that everyone involved needs to try a bit harder.
"We talk a lot but do very little. We say we want industry but what are we doing to attract it? For example, Xewkija Industrial Estate needs complete restructuring. It's a shame that it takes so long for someone to be granted a factory extension - especially if it is someone who is already pumping money into the economy!
"They do not seem to understand the time factor. They cannot understand that it should not take two years to get a decision on whether to build a hotel - and I speak from personal experience!
"All too often, the blame does not lie with the government but with individuals in departments. You may say it is the government's responsibility to ensure that they do their work but you cannot blame the government as such," Dr Caruana shrugged.
The chamber believes the first step would be to create a complete package of incentives and services for the potential investor, giving them the key to a factory ready to walk into, with all the leases arranged and with all the infrastructural connections. It had proposed this to Minister Austin Gatt but in spite of his support has yet to see it materialise.
Some things have improved, such as the respect for local investors - increasingly the only ones active in Gozo.
"A Gozitan invests here because his heart is tied to the land - even though it may be better for him to invest in Malta or even overseas. In the past we used to lay down the red carpet for foreigners and ignore local investors. That is no longer the case, thanks to the efforts of the chamber. Gozitans should be offered the same - if not more - incentives as foreigners, especially as they will remain more loyal to the island."
Dr Caruana believes that there is a lot more money that could be ploughed into productive investment and lamented that the amnesty forced people to leave hoarded money idle for a year.
"It would have been better if the government insisted that the money be invested in projects that would create employment, rather than be deposited in bank deposits!
"We don't seem to know which road to take to get to where we want to go!"
With the problems with manufacturing being well known, he believes that the solution for Gozo lies with services - especially tourism. He sees the new tourism studies school in Qala as an important step and hopes that it will encourage Gozitans to see tourism as a valid career path.
"There is a misconception that working in a hotel is an inferior job but in reality the wages are very good. We need to get this message across to children and their parents," he said.
Indeed, Dr Caruana sees the brain drain to Malta as the most important factor: It is no use trying to attract services sectors like call centres and back office work to Gozo if the children go to school in Malta and stay there.
He admits that it is a Catch 22 situation: The children go to Malta because the job opportunities are better but the jobs don't come to Gozo because there are not enough qualified people available.
"This happened with a company that wanted a call centre in Gozo, which needed 250 people qualified in IT. Even if there were that many Gozitans with the right qualifications, they would probably already be working in Malta," he said, tapping the table to stress his point.
The Catch 22 situation also applies to suitable office space.
"This is easier to solve as it would not take much to demolish factories and rebuild them as office space. But do you bring the companies here and then provide the infrastructure they need, or do you provide the infrastructure first?"
Of course, the infrastructure does not just mean office space. The list of projects requiring political decision is long - and yellowed with age.
Dr Caruana ticked them off on his fingers: The airstrip, a golf course, a marina.
"I am in constant contact with the foreigners buying property in Fort Chambray. Many of them say how much they would love to have a berth in Mgarr but the harbour is full. And we are talking about millionaires, who are willing to pay for what they want.
"Applications get filed and then forgotten about. Investors should be given a clear 'yes' or 'no', and if it is a 'no' then they should be told why not! Why should it be so difficult to decide if we want marinas in Gozo, how many there should be and where they should be!"
"Chambray alone will not be enough. It requires other investment in the infrastructure, like a marina, a golf course and an air strip. This is the only way to get Gozo into the top tourism market and to encourage investment. Buying an expensive property is still foreign investment as it is still money coming in to the economy," entrepreneur Michael Caruana said.
"We have just as much to offer as Monaco and the Greek islands but we need to take the bull by the horns. No more moaning. Let us see what needs to be done and let's do it! Let's do it!"
Fort Chambray was built by the Knights of St John in the 18th century and was intended to be a city on similar lines to Valletta, with a palace, a parade ground, barracks and a church as well as residential plots - all protected by massive walls.
Dr Caruana took over the project in January 2005 after the site had lain abandoned for years. It had been given in 1993 on a 99-year lease to Fort Chambray Ltd for tourism-related development. A few villas had been constructed but no restoration works had been carried out.
Payments to Bank of Valletta were falling behind (there was still Lm8 million outstanding on the loan) and Dr Caruana approached the private owners, including majority shareholder Roberto Memmo, and the government to buy them out. He eventually bought the project for what he described in an interview at the time as "a bit more" than Lm3.5 million, in addition to taking on responsibility for the loan.
A full development permit was issued in 2005 to ratify the original permit issued to Dr Caruana's predecessors but he has a very different concept planned.
"The proposed layout did not suit what we had in mind as we wanted to create a feel of luxury. The previous designers had crammed too much in. Our approach was to give more value by making the units larger, adding an outdoor pool area and deck, as well as adding much more landscaping.
"We were lucky in that the development was not that advanced and there was still time to make substantial changes. Some other things were already done and were not feasible to change, such as the balconies opposite our offices here. I felt they were much too heavy and we are using much lighter looking designs for the other phases, with softer textures and more natural materials. And we are using a darker wood to create more of a contrast with the light Maltese stone.
"The landscaping also lays considerable emphasis on colour. We spent a lot of money but the results are there to see."
Dr Caruana admitted that it was always tempting to pack more into a development to justify the capital outlay but that it was important to do less and not more.
"In the end, that is what is going to make the difference between success and failure. You have to find the balance between what you want to achieve and the money that you need to finance it.
"We are offering luxury living in a fort dating back to the time of the Knights. You have to combine elegance in keeping with the history of the place, with the comfort you would expect nowadays. There will be fine dining restaurants, a supermarket, and hopefully the five-star deluxe hotel. It will be a concept and not just a resort."
He stresses again and again that his motivation is not purely financial.
"For example, it is not in my interest from an economic point of view to build a hotel. It would be far easier to build apartments and sell them. But a 200-room, five-star hotel with conference facilities, a health and leisure centre and so on will create jobs.
"Let us just hope that we do not have to wait too long for the permits," he said.
Dr Caruana has re-sited the hotel from the centre of the fort to its edge, requiring the demolition of some of the buildings put up by the previous developer. There are considerable swathes of landscaping around a central piazza and the original historic entrance is being restored, offering access to the hotel.
The entire site is pedestrianised with all the access and parking restricted to a vast subterranean level.
In the meantime, work is underway on the final touches to the first phase which has 70 units. So far around 70 per cent of the units have been sold to Gozitans and Maltese as well as to foreigners, he said.
The intention is to complete the whole project within three to four years of the permit.
Dr Caruana is not the type to allow doubts to creep in. He went into the project with enthusiasm and, if anything, this has grown over the past two years. The huge picture windows of his office on the walls of the fort overlook the stunning coast and countryside between Mgarr and Mgarr ix-Xini, which enchanted French President Nicolas Sarkozy so recently.
He gazed at it with the special brand of emotional patriotism that all Gozitans seem to have.
"I have a responsibility to the government, which entrusted me with this project, as well as to Bank of Valletta, which financed it. It was very important to have their trust - especially after all the political controversy associated with the project. I will not let them down."
20070524-business--int1.jpgGozo's less than azure window
The Gozo Business Chamber is urging the government to consider a tourism authority for the island, highlighting the importance of tourism to the economy.
President Michael Caruana upheld the arguments made last week in The Times Business by the Gozo Tourism Association.
"The problem is that Gozo is not sufficiently marketed. The Malta Tourism Authority is based on people who have vested interests in Malta and who will try to fill their own hotels before they try to push people to Gozo. This is perfectly understandable but it is a real injustice to Gozo. We have even heard of potential visitors being told that Gozo is "closed" in winter!
"This means Gozo has to compete not just with rival markets but with Malta itself. This is why I have insisted time and time again that Gozo should have its own tourism authority, with around 15 per cent of the MTA's budget, to promote it as a distinct destination with a distinct brand," he said.
"I have always believed that Gozo should not be looking at quantity. I would prefer to have one fourth the number but have them spend four times as much."
The chamber regularly meets the Gozo Tourism Association. Dr Caruana believes that the chamber is there to promote business in Gozo and anything that can help the island's economy is worth pushing, whether it is tourism, manufacturing or commerce. His greatest concern is the lack of opportunities but he is quite open about the obstacles.
"Efforts have been made to attract investment but it is hard enough to get investment to Malta, let alone to Gozo. Apart from the problem of double insularity, you have to compete with former Eastern bloc countries which are now an integral part of Europe. Getting a manufactured good to the continent takes only hours, whereas it takes almost that long to get it to Malta from Gozo!"
This is not to say he feels there is no future for manufacturing: It just means that everyone involved needs to try a bit harder.
"We talk a lot but do very little. We say we want industry but what are we doing to attract it? For example, Xewkija Industrial Estate needs complete restructuring. It's a shame that it takes so long for someone to be granted a factory extension - especially if it is someone who is already pumping money into the economy!
"They do not seem to understand the time factor. They cannot understand that it should not take two years to get a decision on whether to build a hotel - and I speak from personal experience!
"All too often, the blame does not lie with the government but with individuals in departments. You may say it is the government's responsibility to ensure that they do their work but you cannot blame the government as such," Dr Caruana shrugged.
The chamber believes the first step would be to create a complete package of incentives and services for the potential investor, giving them the key to a factory ready to walk into, with all the leases arranged and with all the infrastructural connections. It had proposed this to Minister Austin Gatt but in spite of his support has yet to see it materialise.
Some things have improved, such as the respect for local investors - increasingly the only ones active in Gozo.
"A Gozitan invests here because his heart is tied to the land - even though it may be better for him to invest in Malta or even overseas. In the past we used to lay down the red carpet for foreigners and ignore local investors. That is no longer the case, thanks to the efforts of the chamber. Gozitans should be offered the same - if not more - incentives as foreigners, especially as they will remain more loyal to the island."
Dr Caruana believes that there is a lot more money that could be ploughed into productive investment and lamented that the amnesty forced people to leave hoarded money idle for a year.
"It would have been better if the government insisted that the money be invested in projects that would create employment, rather than be deposited in bank deposits!
"We don't seem to know which road to take to get to where we want to go!"
With the problems with manufacturing being well known, he believes that the solution for Gozo lies with services - especially tourism. He sees the new tourism studies school in Qala as an important step and hopes that it will encourage Gozitans to see tourism as a valid career path.
"There is a misconception that working in a hotel is an inferior job but in reality the wages are very good. We need to get this message across to children and their parents," he said.
Indeed, Dr Caruana sees the brain drain to Malta as the most important factor: It is no use trying to attract services sectors like call centres and back office work to Gozo if the children go to school in Malta and stay there.
He admits that it is a Catch 22 situation: The children go to Malta because the job opportunities are better but the jobs don't come to Gozo because there are not enough qualified people available.
"This happened with a company that wanted a call centre in Gozo, which needed 250 people qualified in IT. Even if there were that many Gozitans with the right qualifications, they would probably already be working in Malta," he said, tapping the table to stress his point.
The Catch 22 situation also applies to suitable office space.
"This is easier to solve as it would not take much to demolish factories and rebuild them as office space. But do you bring the companies here and then provide the infrastructure they need, or do you provide the infrastructure first?"
Of course, the infrastructure does not just mean office space. The list of projects requiring political decision is long - and yellowed with age.
Dr Caruana ticked them off on his fingers: The airstrip, a golf course, a marina.
"I am in constant contact with the foreigners buying property in Fort Chambray. Many of them say how much they would love to have a berth in Mgarr but the harbour is full. And we are talking about millionaires, who are willing to pay for what they want.
"Applications get filed and then forgotten about. Investors should be given a clear 'yes' or 'no', and if it is a 'no' then they should be told why not! Why should it be so difficult to decide if we want marinas in Gozo, how many there should be and where they should be!"