Finance Minister Tonio Fenech has reaffirmed the government’s plans to set up a Corporate Village in Mrieħel were still on.

Answering a question raised by opposition whip Joe Mizzi, Mr Fenech said a request for proposals had been issued.

Potential developers would be identified but only one would be chosen.

Opposition Leader Joseph Muscat repeatedly asked the minister to confirm that the corporate village project was going ahead at Mrieħel.

Mr Fenech said Mrieħel was no longer an industrial estate but was “developing itself” into an area for the service industry, which was now the biggest employer on the islands.

This made all the more sense for the government’s plans to have a corporate village there, funded by private investment.

Minister Fenech said this did not mean the government no longer attached the deserved importance to expansion of the industrial sector. There were no fewer than 10 expansion projects going on at the Ħal Far industrial estate.

At Mrieħel, Methode was the only industry still expanding, and the government was not planning to put any spokes in its wheels.

Mr Fenech said Dr Muscat had repeatedly shown he had no idea of what the project was all about.

He had spoken of showrooms, but the project would involve offices and related services.

The opposition’s stance showed that facing up to new developments was not among its policies, whereas the government had clear visions on the employment and economic sectors.

Asked by Alfred Sant what sectors the government was aiming for, Mr Fenech said in 2011 alone Malta Enterprise had approved 39 new and expansion projects, including the green economy, with a total investment of €169 million and the creation of 850 new jobs.

The results of the past five years were there for all to see.