Freeport shows Malta's potential - PM

Although Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi has occupied Malta's top seat for almost four years, he is still not comfortable with heights.

In a light moment while speaking to Freeport workers yesterday, Dr Gonzi admitted he would probably feel dizzy if he had to go on the high-rise cranes used to move containers.

He cracked jokes with a number of young workers before touring the canteen and visiting the Freeport's control area.

Dr Gonzi visited the Freeport a day after the government signed an agreement with French company CMA CGM, which manages the Freeport and plans to make a €130 million (Lm55.77 million) investment to increase the facility's container handling capacity.

He later told the media that the fact that the French company was planning to create more jobs at the Freeport was a sign that foreign investors had confidence both in the country's potential and especially in its human resources, which he described as Malta's greatest asset.

"What has been achieved to date should show us that we can be more ambitious in the future," he said, adding that the aim was to continue improving.

He said the investment meant more jobs and economic activity for the country in a sector that made good use of the country's strategic position in the Mediterranean.

Answering questions about the Freeport's operations at the Brindisi terminal, which was officially stopped in 2005, Investments Minister Austin Gatt, who accompanied Dr Gonzi on the visit, said all the creditors had been paid and the company had now been liquidated.