Malta Developers Association President Sandro Chetcuti. Photo: Chris Sant Fourner

Malta Developers Association President Sandro Chetcuti has denied he is considering a future in politics, dispelling rumours he will run on the Labour Party ticket in the next election.

Questions were raised after statements he made to mark the MDA’s fifth anniversary celebrations last weekend, when he hinted that the time had come for him to make way for others.

The MDA’S proposals, he said, had been taken on board in consecutive Budgets. With such an influence on policy, why would one need a seat in Parliament?

“The MDA’S proposals were taken on board Budget after Budget, so that today, thankfully, business is healthy and we believe that in the next five years it is going to continue to be positive.”

Mr Chetcuti told developers to “make hay while the sun shines” during last weekend’s event. Addressing the negative reactions to that statement, he said: “I am not arrogant. I am being constructive”.

He said developers had come a long way. They now understood the sector depended on quality, not quantity. Yet he confirmed he expected a boom in the next five years.

“We have learnt how to lobby and negotiate with the government. Without being partisan, I must admit that this administration understood clearly the need and the importance of the building industry,” he said.

It is precisely the same line of thought that is leading to mounting pressure against the government over its failure to stem development that breaches or exploits loopholes in planning policies. The sale of passports and the number of foreigners coming to stay in Malta had boosted the industry, Mr Chetcuti said. He insisted the future lay in regeneration, not the taking up of new land.

This administration understood the need and importance of the industry

“Our members do not want to build in the countryside. On the contrary, stopping speculation in Outside Development Zones strengthens the investments our members made in developed areas,” he insisted.

In line with this, Mr Chetcuti stressed that any extension of ODZ areas would damage the construction industry, which he believes is a necessary pillar for the economy.

He warned his members not to take things for granted: “Between 2006 and 2012 the sector was in the ITU [intensive therapy unit]. Investment had stagnated. There was an oversupply of property but it wasn’t up to standard. We have learnt the lesson.”

He did admit that the previous government also faced an international economic crisis and that sectors opened up by the former Nationalist government – such as the iGaming industry – were helping the property market.

He said MDA had grown from its original 55 founder members to over 300. He also admitted he lost some along the way due to the stand taken against ODZ development and his insistence that members work in line with planning policies and EU rules.