Multigas said this afternoon its factory location, allocated to it by the then Malta Development Corporation in 1998, was critical to enable a direct gas supply required for the adjoining ST Microelectronics operation.

Multigas issued its statement after Prime Minister Joseph Muscat last Sunday said that the policy was that there should be no development in outside development zones except for education and health, the same policy adopted by the previous government.

He said that if the policy would not apply for the new university, it would also not apply for everything else. He listed four schools built in ODZ as well as Multigas.

The company said that the site had previously been utilised for a number of years by the government as a maintenance and repair depot for government vehicles along with other equipment, including lathes and turning machines.

Most of the floor area occupied by this public equipment had been covered in concrete slab that was later incorporated into the new Multigas factory.

A significant part of the original depot was allocated to ST Microelectronics as a parking area and to house its new Enemalta distribution centre.

The Multigas factory formed part of small cluster that had been designated for industrial use and managed by Malta Industrial Parks.