The Malta Chamber of Commerce, Enterprise and Industry through the executive committees of its Logistics Business Section and Shipping and Bunkering Business Section, together with the Association of Ship Agents and the Association of Groupage Operators, met to discuss the Request for Proposals launched recently by Malta Enterprise, to design, construct, finance, operate and maintain an International Logistics Hub.

The project is meant to utilise the existing area of the Groupage Complex in Ħal Far to develop a strategic hub for international business.

The Malta Chamber and the associations share a positive view on this initiative and agree that it can indeed prove to be a valuable asset to the Maltese logistics sector, to complement the services offered by the Malta Freeport and other valid operators. The planned expansion at Ħal Far is approximately four times the existing warehousing space.

An important factor that needs to be taken into consideration for the successful implementation of this project is the regulatory regime in which future hubbing activities are meant to operate. Since the current rules and regulations generate an element of costs attributable to the operations, it would be preferable to address this matter before a major project of this magnitude takes off, thereby contributing to the viability of the project even more.

There would be numerous decisions to be taken to turn Malta into an international logistics hub and, consequently, a potential pillar of our economy. This is why the Malta Chamber, the Association of Ship Agents and the Association of Groupage Operators wish to express their belief that the successful development of this sector requires a coordinated and joint effort for the development of a national logistics strategy.

Through this strategy, established within a reasonable time frame, a clear vision of how the logistics sector will grow and develop, as well as the initiatives to be taken by both the public and private sector. The Malta Chamber, as well as the Association of Ship Agents and the AssociationGroupage Operators augur the successful transformation of the Ħal Far Complex and the future development of the sector as a pillar of the economy.