Partit Demokratiku leader Marlene Farrugia has criticised the deal for the sale of the former Institute of Tourism Studies site in St George’s Bay and reiterated her call for a national high-rise masterplan.
Speaking in Valletta ahead of a parliamentary statement on the issue by minister Konrad Mizzi, Dr Farrugia said the public had not got the best deal it could for the lucrative site, raising doubts about the agreement.
The db Group, who will be developing a €300m hotel and leisure centre on the site, will pay €60m for the land.
The same land had been valued at some €212 million in the draft Paceville masterplan, which stated that land comprising part of the ITS site and the Corinthia Marina Hotel was valued at €8,500 per square metre.
“While people struggle to get loans for their homes, the developers will be paying a large part of the sum for the land interest-free,” Dr Farrugia said today. “The public could have got a lot more out of this deal, money which could have gone to address their actual needs.”
Referencing controversy surrounding the American University of Malta at Żonqor Point, she said that while the circumstances were different, every private investment raised doubts over whether the country was receiving a good return on the sale of public assets.
“People voted for a transparent, accountable government working with a roadmap,” Dr Farrugia said, noting that the St George’s Bay development was going forward before the Paceville masterplan or local plan review had been completed.
The PD leader reiterated her call for a national masterplan to guide new high-rise developments, stressing that the country’s character was under threat.
In a statement, the party said the people had a right to know what deals were taking place behind closed doors and questioned whether the masterplan would be objectively designed or tweaked to fit the developers needs.
“The government must inform us exactly how much will be spent from taxpayers' money on the infrastructure to support this project,” the party said. “We also call on the government to give their word that no part of the foreshore will be privatised, and that the general public will have access to the beach. No part of the beach should be privatised for profit.”