Labour leader Joseph Muscat said this morning that he hoped that the government had dropped its plans for a Corporate Village in Mrieħel.

Speaking at a question and answer session with workers of Methode Ltd after a tour of the factory, Dr Muscat said that in a situation where Malta was lacking industrial space, it made no sense that a prime industrial site was given up for offices and showrooms.

Nor did it make sense for the government to compete with the private sector in the provision of office space.

Dr Muscat made his comments after one of the workers observed that Methode - which is located next door to the site of the proposed Corporate village, was facing problems in the allocation of space for expansion.

In his address, Dr Muscat also renewed his commitment to reduce water and electricity tariffs, and said such cuts would also apply to the business sector.

The Minister of Finance, he noted, had finally acknowledged that bills could be reduced, through the commissioning of the inter-connector to the European power grid.

Labour, however, would also seek other savings, such as by removing inefficiencies as Enemalta and exploring the use of new technology. The carbon-capture technology proposed by Sargas was one of several proposals.

In this way, tariff reductions would not need to be covered by higher income tax  or VAT.

Dr Muscat said the government had finally realised that Enemalta's massive debt (some €600 million) needed to be tackled. It was in the process of setting up a  special purpose vehicle to focus on this problem. The PL, Dr Muscat said, would be supporting the government in this measure.