The Chamber of Commerce has called for explanations about the concession being granted to the Corinthia Group for a major development in St George’s Bay.

In a statement, the Chamber said it was seeking to ensure the amount paid was “reasonable and transparent” and that the value incorporated fair compensation for allowing a change of use for the concession.

Times of Malta has reported that the international hotel chain will acquire a commercial concession worth €700 million for just €17 million, if draft deed negotiated by government is approved by Parliament.

Corinthia is planning to build 100,000 square metres of commercial and residential real estate and offices, including high-rise blocks.

The Chamber said that, given Corinthia’s track record in the hospitality industry, there would have been fewer questions asked had the project continued to be exclusively tied to tourism, rather than including residential blocks.

“The placing of these new units on the market may potentially lead to distortions if, as reported, it eventually emerges that the investor has been granted favourable conditions in the process of renewing the concession of the land as well as in enabling the transfer of lease to third parties,” the Chamber said.

“Besides, in the interest of sustainability, the Chamber is assuming that the relevant authorities are giving due consideration to all environmental concerns that this proposed project has raised.”

The Chamber expressed disappointment that there had been no official communication about what the project would actually entail and urged authorities to clarify all aspects of the project to eliminate “unnecessary speculation and suspicion”.

The Chamber said its principles on the transfer of public land remained unchanged from those expressed two years ago in relation to the negotiations with db Group over the Institute of Tourism Studies (ITS) site.

Citing its comments at the time, the Chamber said: “The transfer of public land to private interest is often the subject of serious controversy and going forward, we believe that agreements and procedures must be – and be seen to be – above board and transparent.

“People dealing in public land must act as if they were dealing with their own property. They must be made accountable for earning the full market value expected from the asset.”