Four “plausible” alternative sites for the proposed new university, suggested to the government, include an area at Luqa close to the airport and on the Marsa side of Grand Harbour, according to a report seen by Times of Malta.

An environmental NGO also proposed a campus spread over three fortifications around Kalkara: Ricasoli, Saint Rocco and San Salvatore.

The fourth proposal was for the use of brownfield sites and quarries.

The Prime Minister said in Parliament on Monday the government was “studying” four proposals made by the National Independent Forum for Sustainability (Nifs).

The proposals were made in a report presented to the government and the President last week with the aim of safeguarding pristine land at Żonqor Point, in Marsascala, which the planning authority has earmarked to host the new University.

The project has caused public outrage because of the use of 90,000 square metres of land outside development zone.

Nifs said the proposal to build a university campus within the planned coastal area was “a travesty” of the State’s responsibilities under the Constitution. Article 9 says: “The State shall safeguard the landscape and the historical and artistic patrimony of the nation.”

More in Times of Malta.