Gonzi ‘changed his mind’ on real estate at White Rocks

The Prime Minister was against real estate development at White Rocks in 2004, a position that "surprisingly" changed, according to a director of a company that had been short-listed to build a tourist complex in the area.

Paul Abela, a director of Costa San Andrea Ltd, writing in The Times today says the government "refused outright" that there should be any real estate element in the White Rocks project even when, after the 2003 election, it wanted to make changes to the agreement, which was not yet signed.

Negotiations had started with Costa San Andrea consortium, made up of Maltese businessmen and Spanish hotel operator Sol Melia, after the company was chosen as the preferred bidder by the government.

A public call for tenders had been issued in 1999 for the development of a tourist complex in White Rocks. The brief excluded real estate development and, sources confirmed, the agreement with Costa San Andrea had Cabinet approval but the project was put on the backburner because of the 2003 election.

Contacted, Mr Abela, president of the Chamber of Small and Medium Enterprises – GRTU and a former Nationalist mayor of Swieqi, confirmed that the government’s opposition to any real estate development was reaffirmed by Lawrence Gonzi when he succeeded Eddie Fenech Adami as Prime Minister in early 2004.

"When we were insisting on real estate to be part of the project, Dr Fenech Adami had told us he preferred to issue another public call for tenders but gave us the right of first refusal. After Dr Gonzi succeeded him, the new Prime Minister told us he did not agree with the right of first refusal and insisted he was against real estate development at White Rocks," Dr Abela explained, adding that Dr Gonzi’s position had "surprisingly" changed.

Dr Gonzi has defended the government’s decision to give the British consortium White Rocks Holding Company, which plans to develop a sports complex, land to build 300 apartments. The complex would be transferred to the government when built.

After last month’s announcement that the government was negotiating a €200 million investment for the building of a sports complex, Costa San Andrea asked for a meeting with Dr Gonzi.

"He told us to put the request in writing," Mr Abela said, insisting he could not understand how the consortium made up of British companies was chosen without a public call for tenders.

He disputed the government’s argument that the country would not be forking out money when it was giving up lucrative prime site land for the company to build 300 apartments.

"The government has trumpeted this as a €200 million investment. Will it be asking the consortium to have a bank guarantee on that amount of money like it had done with us?"

Mr Abela said the 300 apartments would give the consortium a very handsome profit and doubted that €200 million would be spent on sports facilities.

He insisted that Costa San Andrea wanted justice to be done.

"I was in the PN long before Lawrence Gonzi. I fought for work, justice and liberty and I still believe in justice. I will continue fighting for justice within my party," Mr Abela said.