Over the summer, we have heard quite a bit about the Żonqor project and the issues of ODZ, environment and development in general.
More recently there was news of MEPA decision to approve construction on 6,000 square metres of ODZ in Burmarrad, and of Lidl’s application for another 5,000 square metres in Birkirkara. It seems as though there is an onslaught against the very idea of ODZ being ‘outside development’.
In fact, the very way in which sites are chosen for projects, and the apparent irrelevance of the term ODZ to the decision-making process, becomes clear when one examines how such decisions are made.
We have seen Prime Minister Joseph Muscat making flashy announcements on how the sites for the American University of Malta were chosen, presenting them as though the decision was a fait accompli. Indeed, some of us have been left with the impression that this ‘dialogue’ – between government, Sadeen, and the public – has been orchestrated from the start, and was merely an elaborate exercise in PR.
The Żonqor decision is not final however, since the alternative sites are yet to be presented to the Parliamentary Committee for the Environment, as promised by Mepa’s CEO, Johann Buttigieg. Indeed, even Mepa’s decision on Burmarrad can be taken to appeal. What happens next, whether we accept Muscat’s ‘compromises’ or not, depends mostly upon us.
If selling off ODZ land – and selling it cheaply at that! – is truly the only way to bring our economy forward, then it is clear that future generations are in for a very rough time.
If we go on building at this rate, there will come a point where there simply isn’t any more pristine land left with which to attract investors.
I am sure our PM and everyone else realises that when we talk about ‘compromising’ on Żonqor, and on the ODZ issue in general, what we’re really compromising on is our children’s future.
The PM’s announcement of his plans for the AUM was premature
Luckily our government knows this already. In fact, a parliamentary communication to Front Ħarsien ODZ last June specified that “the use of vacant land outside development zones is to be considered only when no feasible alternative exists”.
And luckily again, in the case of Żonqor at least, and probably Burmarrad too, if we look properly, feasible alternatives do exist. There is, for example, the little-mentioned proposal to build part of the AUM campus in Tarxien.
As the reader is probably aware, many proposals were received through a public consultation exercise, regarding alternative sites for the AUM. All of these were supposed to have been evaluated properly before any decision to build on ODZ land was made.
In fact, we heard all about this exercise from Muscat’s polished presentation; none of the alternative sites were suitable, it seems, except for Dock No. 1 in Cospicua, which they have decided to use, together with the existing pool site in Żonqor (which is not ODZ), plus another 13,000 square meters of ODZ landat Żonqor.
The addition of this ODZ land is necessary according to our PM, since without it, the combined sites would be too small. Since 13,000 square metres are far fewer than the original 90,000 they wanted to use, every reasonable person should be happy with this ‘compromise,’ the official tune goes.
What we didn’t hear about was that they were originally looking for up to three sites of 25,000 square metres each. We didn’t hear much about a proposal to build part of the campus in Tarxien, on the site of a reclaimed quarry, which is earmarked for residential, commercial and social development.
This site is close to perfect, according to the official AUM Preliminary Alternative Site Evaluation Report. It comprises 29,000 square metres of land, falls within the development zone, has all the necessary roads, infrastructure and services, and it is not protected for cultural or natural reasons.
The reason for its ultimate rejection is that there are plans to cut a road through it, and this would leave it too smalland fragmented.
Now, when you compare this to those sites that were eventually ‘decided’ upon, you begin to see why an ordinary person might have difficulty in understanding the reasoning.
Cospicua’s Dock 1, which is apparently suitable for building part of the campus, measures approximately 7,000 square metres.
I am no architect or engineer, and I stand to be corrected, but I can’t imagine that cutting a road through 29,000 square metres would leave the Tarxien area much smaller than this. Why is Żonqor Point suitable – i.e. 10, 000 square metres at the pool site and 13,000 on ODZ – but 29,000 square metres in Tarxien aretoo small?
Given the commitment not to build on ODZ, and the possibility of having three sites, wouldn’t a better decision be to locate AUM at Dock 1, Żonqor’s existing pool site, and Tarxien?
I’ll leave it to the reader to speculate on why we heard so little about Tarxien in the PM’s PR exercise, and yet we heard so much about tank-cleaning in Ricasoli, film-making in Rinella, and so on, as reasons for the ultimate selection of Żonqor. In fact, concerning historic buildings such as Rinella and Ricasoli, what the report actually concludes is that “the lack of information about the scale of the [AUM] project” leads to “uncertainty” on whether these sites could be used (OPM: August 2015, p. 19).
Nothing could show more clearly that the whole process of ‘alternative site evaluation’ was a charade. If we are truly committed to not building on ODZ when there is the possibility of a feasible alternative, and if there is “uncertainty” and a “lack of information” regarding this, then surely we should clear that up, before we choose a site on ODZ.
The PM’s announcement of his plans for the AUM was premature.
The alternative sites still need to be discussed by the parliamentary committee, and I am confident that they too will conclude that there are no grounds for choosing to build on ODZ at this point.
I am sure they will agree that more information about the AUM projectis needed, before we can decide where to build it.
And I believe there will be a resurge in public outcry against further construction on ODZ, once milder weather relieves us of our collective lethargy.
This important national discussion, which boils down to whether we should sell off our children’s natural inheritance, is not over until we decide it is.
Colette Sciberras is a part-time lecturer in philosophy at the University of Malta and a teacher of philosophy at Giovanni Curmi Higher Secondary.