None of the projects mentioned by the Prime Minister when he announced the setting up of the St George’s Bay Regeneration Corporation have applied for a permit, a government spokesman has confirmed.

Two days before the Budget speech, Joseph Muscat announced that a new corporation would be set up to facilitate at least three major projects and prevent the popular area from becoming a “permanent construction site”.

He said the St George’s Bay Regeneration Corporation was needed because the projects would cause chaos if not coordinated properly.

Though he spoke of three projects in his announcement, Dr Muscat only referred to the six-star complex planned to replace the existing Corinthia and Radisson hotels.

But a search for more details by this newspaper brought to light two new development projects.

One consists of a hotel, commercial and residential units on the site of St George’s Park, in Paceville. The other is an extension of the proposed massive development in St George’s Bay by developer Anton Camilleri, known as Tal-Franċiz, who is a council member of the Malta Developers Association.

These developments are in addition to plans by International Hotel Investments plc, a Corinthia company, for a six-star complex consisting of two new luxury hotels, a beachfront resort and a lifestyle hotel for corporate visitors. The development includes residential apartment buildings and commercial and retail activity.

The developers of the three projects – St George’s Park, Villa Rosa and the six-star complex – have not yet applied for permits.

They were still having talks with the planning authority on the projects, though the government was including them in the plans for the area’s “regeneration”, the spokesman confirmed.

Read more in the Times of Malta.