The Institute of Tourism Studies’ move to Smart City would not impact students, Minister Edward Zammit Lewis said yesterday, promising new hotels in the area.
The Tourism Minister was reacting to concerns expressed by ITS students who fear the move would take them away from the cluster of hotels close to the present campus.
Speaking to this newspaper during a visit to the training institute in Pembroke, Dr Zammit Lewis acknowledged that, being surrounded by hotels, the present campus made life easier for students with work placements, the same would happen at Smart City.
“This campus is surrounded by hotels, but that does not mean there will not be any hotels near Smart City. “Our idea is to also develop that area as a tourist destination,” he added.
The ITS campus will move to Smart City in Kalkara, with the government forking out about €50 million for its relocation after a tender for the land was won by Seabank Group, the only bidder.
The group plans to build two towers, which will be surrounded by a shopping mall on three levels, offices, a casino, a Hard Rock hotel and a café on the beach.
According to Dr Zammit Lewis, the works on the new campus are expected to start early next year. While the present facilities could take about 800 students, the number would rise to about 2,000 as a result of the move. “The aim is a cohort of students that are Maltese but also to be in a position to attract foreigners,” he said.
Students who spoke to this newspaper, insisting on anonymity, remarked that the new campus would be too far away from the hotels and catering establishments they required.
Others said they were worried that the ITS would be losing some of its identity when moving to Smart City.
The move was welcomed, on the other hand, by those students living in the south, who said it would be easier to get to Kalkara than Pembroke.
Dr Zammit Lewis noted that any change always brought with it some complaints and added that the government had to make certain decisions, such as the Kalkara move. “It’s all a matter of where students live.
“But I can assure them that the new campus will be better, with state-of-art equipment,” he said, explaining that the new facilities would be producing better workers, who would be guaranteed better-paying jobs.
This newspaper reported earlier this year that there had been accusations that the government’s call for development proposals for the prime site at St George’s Bay had been designed to favour the Seabank Group.
The Tourism Minister reacted to the concerns of ITS students who fear the move will take them away from the hotels close to the present campus. Photo: Darrin Zammit Lupi