The Malta Fairs and Convention Centre will be investing €10 million on the construction of a new permanent centre covering a footprint of over 38,000 square metres adjacent to the present tent it has in Ta’ Qali.
The agreement was signed this morning by MFCC directors and Land Minister Jason Azzopardi.
Through the agreement, the government passed on to the company the 28,000 square metres of land it presently occupied by the current two tents and the area around them and the 38,000 square metres presently occupied by the Assocjazzjoni Sports Muturi.
The latter will be moving to another plot of land which is double the area with the €250,000 cost of relocation being borne by the MFCC.
The government is passing on the land to the MFCC on a temporary emphyteusis for 65 years against €186,000 in the first year, which sum will increase gradually each year reaching over €470,000 by the end of the 65th year.
Dr Azzopardi said that the MFCC already employed 60 people and the number was set to increase with the new centre.
The emphyteusis was granted following a resolution in Parliament and the planned exhibition centre would be a state of the art permanent building which would be constructed over the next five years and enable Malta to attract more conference tourism.
Earlier this year Mepa revisited the Ta Qali action plan, which the Convention Centre now forms part of.