ME ‘finalising’ formal request for Corporate Village proposals

Malta Enterprise is in the process of finalising the formal request for proposals, through which the preferred bidder for the €200 million Corporate Village project will be selected, the agency’s chief executive Alan Camilleri told The Times Business.

Ten expressions of interest for the design, development, operation and marketing of the “iconic” Mrieħel project on the site of the former Dowty plant submitted towards the end of last year have been evaluated.

Mr Camilleri described the overall quality of submissions as “good and satisfactory for Malta Enterprise”, adding there were encouraging prospects for eventual negotiations.

Asked if works on Corporate Village were still on track to begin next year, Mr Camilleri replied: “While there are some delays on the projected timelines due to the positive response received, works are nevertheless envisaged to start in the coming year.”

He explained interest had been expressed by a mixture of companies and consortia from Malta, Italy, the UK, the US, Canada and South Africa.

Sources, however, told The Times Business that the quality of submissions was “disappointing” and a rethink of the project’s design and a fresh call for expressions was not excluded.

Intended to become Malta’s central business district with office, leisure, retail, sports and conference facilities occupying some 130,000 square metres, Corporate Village is expected to be completed in 2015.

Malta Enterprise, which has been tasked with marketing the project, is to move into the complex along with the Inland Revenue and VAT Departments, under a government commitment to occupy 30 per cent of the office space. Corporate Village is also earmarked as one of the main hubs of activity during Malta’s EU presidency in 2017.

Mr Camilleri said Corporate Village had most recently been showcased in a special report on Malta published with the UK’s Daily Telegraph.

“The main driver behind the marketing of the project will eventually be the selected applicant, although Malta Enterprise could still market Corporate Village as a possible location for setting up operations when trying to attract foreign investors to Malta,” Mr Camilleri added.