Prime Minister Joseph Muscat confirmed this afternoon that the government will transfer the former Café Premier to Valletta local council, which will be using it as its offices.
In April, the government had said it had appointed a working group to consider the best use for the former Café Premier.
It also invited the public to make its own suggestions on the use of this space.
The working group was chaired by Ray Bondin and its members were Joseph Caruana, Albert Marshall, Herald Bonnici, Gavin Gulia, Joanne Sciberras and Tony Pace.
The government controversially repossessed the Cafe Premier soon after the general election. It had been conceded through an emphyteutical grant to Cities Entertainment Ltd (CE) in 1998, for €4.2 million.
The repossession deal was slammed by the National Audit Office which said the government did not obtain value for money even though the property was bought at market value.
PUBLICATION OF BUDGET DOCUMENT 'A GENUINE MISTAKE'
Dr Muscat, speaking at a press conference, also said the publication yesterday of a budget document including a set of decisions such as a ban on vintage cars using the roads on weekdays was 'a genuine mistake'. He said no such decision had been taken because studies showed such a ban would not have any impact on road congestion.
Earlier today the Finance Ministry said a budget document was published erroneously and withdrawn soon after. It stressed that the only decisions taken so far are those announced in the Budget speech, not the document.
The document included the decision on the Cafe Premier. The ministry said that decision would be confirmed in the coming days.
In a tweet, Opposition leader Simon Busuttil said:
In his comments, made at a press conference, Dr Muscat said he welcomed the fact that the social partners had generally welcomed the Budget.
Replying to questions on people at the risk of poverty, Dr Muscat said the government had felt it should not raise the minimum wage beyond the cost of living adjustment as it did not wish to undermine competitiveness.
Deputy Prime Minister Louis Grech said the traffic problem would not be solved just by throwing money at it. The biggest challenge was to bring about a change of mentality in the way people travelled.
Dr Muscat said traffic had increased as more people were working. He regretted that in the past not enough was done to tackle this growing problem. To make matters worse, formerly two-lane roads were reduced to one lane. The government was examining infrastructural options including new junctions and underground roads, while also seeking to improve the bus service.