The preliminary assessment carried out by the planning authority on two areas earmarked for possible development of the proposed new university bypassed Fort San Leonardu.

This was due to a number of reasons, including vegetation in need of protection and difficulties of approach when compared to Żonqor Point.

Prime Minister Joseph Muscat tabled the assessment in Parliament today in reply to a parliamentary question by Opposition MP Ryan Callus.

The assessment says the Fort San Leonardu area is “significantly more important” in terms of cultural heritage value.

With current vehicular access through narrow country lanes and parts of restricted widths not deemed suitable for the scale of development proposed for the AUM, it is also more problematic in terms of utility provision and added costs, as well as proximity to other settlements – just 800 metres from Xgħajra.

On the other hand, access to the Żonqor area is through a single carriageway which reached the area direcly and links it to the wider road network. The area was only a few metres away from the development zone of Marsascala and, in the absence of a detailed site boundary, can be considered as adjacent to the same zone, it says.

Provision of utility services in the area can be considered, at face value, as able to accommodate the current and planned requirements of the development zone for residential and commercial uses.

No other government land of the substantial size needed for the project is available in the southeast of Malta for comparative purposes, the assessment concludes.