Investment Minister Chris Cardona yesterday did not exclude asking Parliament to approve a parliamentary resolution granting property to Bart’s School of Medicine for its teaching hospital in Gozo.

But he said there were other legal avenues possible, such as public procurement. Answering several questions by MPs from both sides of the House, the minister said procedures were starting to crystallise.

The project involved the ministries of health, economic affairs and education, but he felt he should not answer questions that pertained strictly to the Health Ministry .

Parts of the “very lengthy and technical” memorandum of understanding with Bart’s related not only to the project in Gozo but also to the refurbishment of St Luke’s Hospital and Karen Grech Hospital and the expansion of health facilities operated by the government. When Claudio Grech (PN) asked how land would be passed on to Bart’s, Dr Cardona said it might not receive immobile property but be the operators of the investment.

There was a distinction between the MOU and the recent request for proposals, but also a relation between the two for the investment to crystallise. The government had imposed a number of commitments on Bart’s.

With dentistry as one of the specialisations, this would increase what Malta had to offer and attract other potential investors. It would be an incentive to explore other dimensions in the health sector.