Malta Enterprise to move to St Luke’s Hospital
Malta Enterprise and Malta Industrial Parks plan to relocate to the premises previously occupied by the Institute of Health Care within St Luke’s Hospital towards the end of the year, The Times Business has confirmed. The two agencies are forced to...
Malta Enterprise and Malta Industrial Parks plan to relocate to the premises previously occupied by the Institute of Health Care within St Luke’s Hospital towards the end of the year, The Times Business has confirmed.
The two agencies are forced to vacate their current base within San Ġwann’s industrial estate to make way for the construction of the €20 million Life Sciences Park.
They will occupy the entire building in Guardamangia which requires considerable refurbishment.
A 13,500 square metre project designed specifically for researchers and companies operating in biotechnology and medical sciences, the Life Sciences Park’s vicinity to Mater Dei Hospital and the University of Malta is crucial to its viability. It will incorporate laboratories, offices, conference paces and incubation facilities.
It has been executive chairman Alan Camilleri’s long-standing plan to merge Malta Enterprise and Malta Industrial Parks. He believes their effectiveness and customer service delivery will now improve further as they are housed under one roof.
Their relocation coincides with the launch of “one-stop shop” services earmarked under the re-engineering of Malta Enterprise which was also mentioned in the last Budget.
“The ‘one-stop shop’ services will continue to widen the services already provided by Malta Enterprise and Malta Industrial Parks to micro-enterprises and SMEs,” Mr Camilleri said. “With the construction of the Life Sciences Park, as well as other projects we are working on, we are seeking to provide the infrastructure that will enable the country to move towards a knowledge-based and higher-value added economy.”
Malta Enterprise said the move to Guardamangia is part of a larger plan focusing on the investment potential of the area now that general hospital facilities have migrated to Mater Dei. Care services carried out within Karin Grech Hospital on the grounds are also expected to migrate in the near future. A strategic development of the former St Luke’s Hospital is to be mapped out.
Malta Enterprise’s permanence in Guardamangia should, however, not run beyond 2015 when Corporate Village, the iconic €200 million project planned for Mrieħel, is completed.
Intended as Malta’s central business district across 130,000 square metres, Corporate Village is to have Malta Enterprise and the VAT and Inland Revenue Departments as its first tenants.