Prime Minister Joseph Muscat told Parliament yesterday he was confident all sides could reach a compromise on the siting of the proposed American University of Malta.
The ultimate aim was to safeguard the investment, placate people who were genuinely worried about the environment and still ensure an economic injection into the south.
Answering a number of questions tabled by Opposition leader Simon Busuttil, he said that, contrary to the Opposition, which had made unrealistic suggestions for the project’s siting, an environmental NGO had proposed four plausible alternative sites which the government was studying.
Economic Affairs Minister Chris Cardona told Marthese Portelli (PN) the heads of agreement with the Sadeen Group would be published at the opportune time “in the national interest”.
Dr Busuttil asked why the investor had been selected without a public call for proposals and Dr Cardona replied the project was on the same lines as Smart City, for which there had been no public call.
The government was seeing how the project’s impact on ODZ land could be reduced, possibly with part of the campus being sited in another area in the south
The Prime Minister said the government was seeing how the project’s impact on ODZ land could be reduced, possibly with part of the campus being sited in another area in the south. Public consultation was still under way.
Besides the four proposals received yesterday, the government was making an analysis to evaluate the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of other proposals, not least with regard to accessibility.
With regard to proposals to consider Fort Ricasoli, there was the aspect of the effects on the film industry to bear in mind, given the film facilities there. Furthermore, it would not be good to site the American University of Malta so close to the tank-cleaning farm.
Meanwhile, Infrastructure Minister Joe Mizzi told Anthony Agius Decelis (PL) that, between 2009 and the end of last month, 332 tonnes of illegally-dumped waste were collected from Żonqor Point area.