Prime Minister Joseph Muscat today hailed the $100 million investment announced last Wednesday by the US company Crane Currency.

Speaking during a brief telephone interview on One Radio, Dr Muscat said the government was not resting on its laurels despite Malta’ strong economic performance over the past three years.

He reminded that unemployment in Malta was at an historic low.

Dr Muscat said the investment by Crane Currency would create 300 quality jobs.

The last time such a large investment had been made in the manufacturing sector was back in 1981 by SGS – Thomson, Dr Muscat said.

The investment talks with Crane Currency were concluded in just six months.

He said this was part of the government’s policy of seeking to attract investment from outside of Europe.

Dr Muscat expressed his wish that the jobs created by Crane be filled by the Maltese, saying this could be done by offering the necessary training.

Dr Muscat said the government had taken action to grant Gzira residents access to the Manoel Island foreshore.
On Friday, the government filed a judicial protest against Midi, calling on it to adhere to its contract and Maltese laws by providing access to the Manoel Island foreshore.
The government, through the Attorney General and the Assistant Attorney General, said Midi was not adhering to its contract conditions as it was denying access to parts of the foreshore that had not been passed on to the company.

Dr Muscat also spoke on access to the foreshore at Manoel Island. He said the Labour government had taken action after previous Nationalist governments had failed to do anything for 13 years.

The Prime Minister offered his full support to Gzira’s PL mayor Conrad Borg Manché, who had led the charge against Midi.

The Prime Minister said 5,000 people had been pulled out of the risk of poverty.

Dr Muscat said €50 million had been attained in funding for social housing projects.

He said the government had inherited a long waiting list of people seeking social housing. The funds obtained would help families, particularly those who were not keeping up with the rent, Dr Muscat said.

Dr Muscat insisted that while the government was pro-business, it was also concerned with protecting the environment.

He said for this reason, the government opposed the expansion of the Freeport, had worked towards eliminating the illegalities in the fish farms sector, and was in favour of granting the public access to Manoel Island.

On the master-plan for Paceville, Dr Muscat said the plan set out what was and was not permitted in the area.

He said the master-plan would see public spaces being handed back to people, as well as specific tourist and residential zones.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.