Plans by the government to give out a former shipbuilding site in Marsa to be used in maritime trade appear to be moving forward. According to the Economy Ministry, no fewer than six bids are being evaluated and the tentative date for the selection of the preferred bidder is expected to be made in the second half of this month.
Maritime trade fits Malta like a glove. With such a central position in the Mediterranean, the island has always been regarded as an ideal location for ship repair, transshipment, warehousing and, also, as servicing centre.
When Malta was a British colony, it served as a home port for the Royal Navy but, even before that, the island had always been regarded as an important maritime location.
There were times, for instance, when warehousing was so strong that the island was called the warehouse of the Mediterranean, however, rising costs killed the trade, or most of it. If a commercial activity does not remain competitive, its future is doomed, unless, that is, it is kept alive through State subsidy, as had been the case of Malta Drydocks for so many years until it was sold off.
For some years now, Malta has been successfully renewing its drive to generate greater maritime trade. Besides ship repair facilities, it has today a thriving freeport; the largest merchant flag in the European Union, ranking also as the seventh in the world; Medserv, a company that runs logistical support bases for the oil and gas industry in the Mediterranean; and a tug company that also runs an extensive service. The yacht servicing business is picking up fast too.
However, there is great potential to expand the trade even further, one of the reasons that led the government to offer the former shipbuilding site for use as a maritime hub.
As expected, the call has attracted investors interested in using the site for the servicing of yachts. It is an ideal site for such work but it is also ideal to be used as a servicing centre for the oil and gas industry. In fact, one of the proposals submitted is precisely to turn the whole area into such a centre.
The government’s privatisation unit had identified four categories under which interested parties could submit bids: oil and gas industry and logistics; ship repair, heavy industry, yachting and logistics; superyacht refit and repair facility and an offshore energy regional support base; and servicing of yachts, supply of hard-standing facilities and other services.
In the opinion of the privatisation unit, the biggest potential lies in the use of the site for the oil and gas industry and logistics.
Hopefully, the Marsa site will become yet another important contributor to the development of maritime trade. Besides the revenue and jobs it will generate, the new maritime activity will also help in further diversifying the economy. This is a goal worth pursuing with determination to reduce any over-reliance on particular sectors, as is the case, for example, of microelectronics in manufacturing.
Another activity that is most suitable for Malta is aircraft maintenance, with the flagship company in this sector being Lufthansa Technik. With clear skies for so many days of the year and air traffic not that dense, the island is perfect to be used as a pilot training centre.
Exploiting further the advantages of the island’s geographical location could well be the secret to developing sustainable economic avenues. However, those charged with seeing to this would need to concentrate first on removing any possible obstacles that could easily drive away potential investors.