Carnival float-builders said today that a site offered to them at Ta'Qali was inadequate and too distant from Valletta.
The float builders are seeking a place where they can build their floats after Malta Industrial Parks ordered their eviction from stores at Luqa once next month's carnival is over. They have also been evicted from Lower Fort St Elmo and a former chapel in Valletta.
MIP said yesterday that the stores currently being used by the float-builders were needed for investment purposes.
It also pointed out it had offered to incorporate the float-builders within the Ta' Qali crafts village but they refused.
Jason Busuttil, spokesman for the Ghaqda Partecipanti Karnival ta' Malta, said they had been offered an old concrete factory which was inadequate and would need to be demolished.
Furthermore, he stressed, Ta' Qali was too far from Valletta, where the floats are displayed.
"It would be impossible to take the floats from Ta'Qali to Valletta, we are seeking a place between Valletta and Marsa," he said.
He insisted again that the former Soldini factory at Marsa, which he said, had been vacant for 10 years, was ideal for the purpose.
"It is the only government-owned property between Valletta and Marsa which will meet our purposes," he said.
MIP said yesterday that industrial property, such as the former Soldini factory, could only be allocated for industrial projects as detailed in the Business Promotion Act. Moreover, the location and size of the factory made it a prime strategic site which was being reserved for potential high value-added investments.
Mr Busuttil said the failure to solve this long-running issue was putting serious doubts about the participation of float builders in next year's carnival.
In a statement later, the Ghaqda Partecipanti Karnival ta' Malta expressed regret that Culture Minister Dolores Cristina was not giving importance to this issue, which could threaten the future of the 500-year-old Carnival. The association said that when the enthusiasts were told to evict Lower Fort St Elmo, they were promised alternative accommodation, but this had so far not been forthcoming.