€350,000 investment for Mġarr marina

A 200-berth yacht marina in Mġarr, Gozo, will see an investment of €350,000 over the next two years, upgrading the pontoons and the facilities there.

The project is part of a 25-year-agreement signed yesterday between Harbour Management Ltd and Transport Malta for the management of the marina.

The privatisation of the Ta' Xbiex and Msida yacht marinas are at an advanced stage and the preferred bidders have already been chosen.

The winning bidder for the Gozo marina, Harbour Management Ltd, a consortium which operates part of the Ta' Xbiex yacht marina, will make an upfront payment of €513,000 to the government and will be paying €60,000 annually in rent. The rent will increase by 10 per cent every five years.

Finance Minister Tonio Fenech said that if the number of berths increased, the rent would rise accordingly and berthing fees would not increase after the company completed the investment and this in consultation with Transport Malta.

"This is another development in the process for Malta to become a centre for excellence in the yachting sector," Mr Fenech said.

He said Harbour Management Ltd was one of two bidders interested in taking over the facilities in Mġarr. However, the chosen bid was "by far" the best option, partly because it offered an upfront payment and partly because, even though the rent offered by the competing bidder was higher, the final package was better by between €300,000 and €350,000. Infrastructure Minister Austin Gatt said the Mġarr marina hardly had any investment made on it since it was set up in 1990.

He said the management of a yacht marina was a commercial activity the government should not be involved in and pointed out that the Grand Harbour Marina was doing well and so was the other private marina at Portomaso.