With investments amounting to hundreds of millions of euros planned for Mrieħel, key stakeholders are calling for a long-term vision to solve the stark contrast emerging between the gleaming offices and the shabby industrial estate.

A number of key financial services providers are already headquartered in Mrieħel – Bank of Valletta and HSBC Bank Malta, big four firms PwC and Deloitte to name but a few – as well as the Malta Financial Services Authority, which moved there in the early 1990s as the Company Registry and expanded.

However, these occupy the periphery, with an industrial area in the interior, which is a mixture of private land and land administered by Malta Industrial Parks.

There are a number of as yet undeveloped sites which have become all the more exciting since the area was included in Mepa’s high-rise policy

“This mixed ownership presents some challenges when managing the site. However, we believe that through cooperation and the adoption of a ‘common good’ culture the challenges can be overcome,” MIP chairman Tony Zahra said.

“Certainly MIP is willing and ready to take the lead provided of course the private sector owners are also in agreement.”

Apart from the long-abandoned former Dowty site (earmarked for an activity similar to the food production plants nearby) there are a number of as yet undeveloped sites (see map on page 6) which have become all the more exciting since the area was included in Mepa’s high-rise policy.

‘Area needs to be regenerated’

Mrieħel currently forms part of the Central Malta Local Plan. The policy map, amended in 2012, sets out a range of land use designations for the industrial area, including Malta Industrial Parks land to the east, sites for SMEs which occupy the bulk of the land area, commercial areas facing the bypass, and areas for offices further east on the boundary with the residential area. Land is also safeguarded for infrastructure, currently occupied by the Civic Amenity site.

In 2012, parts of the site for SMEs fronting Mdina Road were changed to mixed use for commercial and industrial uses. The acceptable land use facing the residential area was also changed to a mixed use area from offices.

In the 2014 Strategic Plan for the environment and development, a proposal was made to convert Mrieħel into an enterprise hub, allowing a wider mix of enterprises aimed at regenerating the area.

The area is unique because of the space available and its access to major road networks. But it clearly needs to be upgraded

There are already two major developments planned by Allied Group and the Farsons Group, as well as applications by Santal Properties Ltd for a 13-storey building, and a €70 million multi-high-rise project by Gasan Tumas.

Will financial services and other knowledge-based services crowd out the industrial activity – and if so, will it be a natural process or should it be instigated?

MFSA chairman Joe Bannister believes that the move to higher value-added will happen naturally, although he does not believe that Malta, due to its small size, needs to have a defined financial services area, as larger jurisdictions do.

A map of Mrieħel industrial estate.A map of Mrieħel industrial estate.

“For employees, it makes sense to have various pockets dedicated to different sectors as it means instead of having everyone commute to one site, they can find one closer to where they live, reducing traffic and commuting time,” he said.

“There is now a lot more quality office space than there was, which is very important as financial services companies cannot wait. My opinion is that it is better to avoid greenfield sites and to gradually redevelop existing ones. There are many examples overseas of the service sector taking over revived industrial areas like docks and warehouses. But this is not a process that happens overnight.”

Farsons Group chairman Louis Farrugia believes in a more proactive approach, saying that a long-term vision for Mrieħel is required.

“We have submitted a number of ideas to the government which are actively being followed. We certainly feel there is scope for a holistic regeneration and rehabilitation of the area which we believe is well placed to develop into a financial and commercial district. Indeed, the success of our own vision to convert and reuse the old Farsons brewery into a business park is dependent and closely tied to the successful regeneration of the wider Mrieħel area,” he said.

A spokesman for HSBC Bank Malta, whose headquarters are on the outskirts of the area, said that the bank welcomed any initiative that helps further strengthen Malta as an international hub.

“Mrieħel is central to the island and would be a good location for further development and investment,” he said.

Joe Gasan, the chairman of the Gasan Group, also believes that there is scope in Mrieħel for unique developments.

“The Tumas and Gasan Group intend to develop an iconic commercial business park. Our land, situated on three roads and overlooking the Mrieħel bypass will become a destination in its own right.

“We are currently waiting for planning permission and, once in hand, we will be able to give more details on the time frame of the development,” he said.

The problem is that just behind the corporate developments on the outer edge of the area, there is an industrial estate made up of dozens of companies plagued by poor infrastructure.

“I believe that industrial activity and corporate space could co-exist,” Alllied Group managing director Adrian Hillmann said, pointing out that both his group’s printing press and Farsons’ brewing were a case in point.

“However, we do need to ask what kind of industrial activity. The area is unique because of the space available and its access to major road networks.

But it clearly needs to be upgraded. To function as a real services sector, it needs shops, food and beverage outlets, and good public transport connections. This is why a long-term vision is preferable,” he said.

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