Developers landed with hefty planning fees may be given the opportunity to spread payment over two instalments, Planning Parliamentary Secretary Michael Farrugia said yesterday.

The proposal, which Dr Farrugia insisted was not yet cast in stone, would be a further leg up for a construction sector which has already benefited from a significant chop in planning fees.

Malta Environment and Planning Authority fees were slashed by an average of 25 per cent earlier this month, in line with one of the Government’s electoral pledges.

Larger developments stand to benefit most from the cuts, with planning and demolition fees capped at €500,000 and €2,000 respectively.

The Government also wants to fast-track permit processing for developments which adhere to planning policies and guidelines, although Dr Farrugia admitted yesterday that details had yet to be ironed out.

Under the proposals, applications deemed to be in line with local plans and planning policies would only undergo preliminary vetting before being signed off by a case officer.

Potential objectors would be granted a period of time – likely to be the three weeks minimum required by law – to raise any objections, after which the development would be given the planning authority green light.

Dr Farrugia defended the proposal from accusations that it reduced oversight in a sector already prone to instances of abuse.

Such applications would be subject to random inspections and audits by specially-tasked officials, he said.

“If this person finds that the case officer in question abused their power and signed off on an application they shouldn’t have, they will have to face consequences.”

Speaking during a tour of the Government’s printing press, Dr Farrugia said the fast-track system would lessen Mepa’s bureaucratic burden.

“We can’t have every single application going through the entire planning process. We want to simplify things while ensuring transparency and oversight,” he said.

Dr Farrugia again argued that the across-the-board reduction in fees would make up for any eventual shortfall in Mepa revenue. “When fees were made exorbitant, the number of applications was halved, and many large projects stalled – most of them industrial and commercial projects which can generate work,” he said.

But according to former minister Mario de Marco, Dr Farrugia’s logic was significantly flawed. “Dr Farrugia is talking about planning fees but ignoring two other factors leading to a dip in applications. Firstly, we have a glut of empty buildings. Secondly, banks have been refusing to finance developments,” he pointed out.