Update 2 - Public to be invited to participate in City Gate project funding

Finance Minister Tonio Fenech said today that the public will be able to participate in the City Gate project through a special purpose vehicle which will be listed on the Malta Stock Exchange.

Speaking on the PBS interview programme Ghandi xi nghid, the minister said the government would, in effect, be renting the space of the project and paying the SPV which is to be set up by the Valletta Regeneration Corporation.

This was a concept which, if successful, could also be applied for the funding of other capital projects, the minister said.

The €80m project includes the demolition of city gate, the rebuilding of city gate bridge, the building of a new parliament building and the conversion of the old theatre ruins into an open air theatre.

Funding is currently being provided through a Bank of Valletta loan.

AIR MALTA

Speaking on the same programme, Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi said that the early retirement schemes being offered to Air Malta workers as part of the restructuring process were similar to those offered and accepted by the dockyard workers.

He expressed confidence that agreement would be reached on the package and on new work practices, saying that unless such agreement was reached, there would be no alternative to the airline than to declare redundancies.

Unions are due to hold meetings with the workers on Monday to explain the packages.

CONSTIUTTIONAL REFORM

Dr Gonzi said he wished to see an updating of the Constitution, including the provisions on neutrality. It was unfortunate, he said, that the Opposition had walked out of a House committee on constitutional reform and was demanding an apology to (Labour MP) Justyne Caruana (over the vote on the power station extension some months ago).

Dr Gonzi said that in the PN view, some things had happened in that vote. The Opposition disagreed. But how had constitutional reform now become subject to an apology to Justyne Caruana?