All the documents related to the planned American University of Malta, which is being financed by Jordanian investors, would “eventually”be published, the Prime Minister said yesterday.

Joseph Muscat was reacting to criticism that the government was not being forthcoming over this project and was dodging public scrutiny, especially on its insistence to build the main campus outside a development zone in Marsascala.

A preliminary agreement signed last May with the Sadeen Group, which is piloting this project, has not been published yet.

An artist’s impression of the university development at Dock No. 1 in Cospicua.

However, Dr Muscat yesterday committed himself to put all the cards on the table, even though no deadlines were given.

“We will be publishing the heads of agreement [signed last May] and, eventually, all documents,” he told the media.

The Prime Minister was visiting Dock No. 1 in Cospicua, a day after announcing that the site would be hosting part of the campus of the private university.

The remaining part will be based at Żonqor Point, in Marsascala, albeit on a much smaller footprint than originally planned.

The event turned out to be a show of force by Labour supporters who gathered in their numbers to give a warm welcome to their leader and express their gratitude for his decision.

Accompanied by architect Edwin Mintoff, who will be overseeing works at Dock No. 1, Dr Muscat made a brief tour of the derelict warehouses that will host this campus.

He said that the project would give a boost to the social and economic regenerations of Cospicua.

He rejected claims that the government had placed the cart before the horse since the Jordanian investors had not yet been accredited by the Maltese authorities to run a private university.

This fuelled concerns that the National Commission for Further and Higher Education would be under intense political pressure as the future of the project would hinge on its decision.

On Thursday, the commission said that the accreditation process was being carried out with due diligence, strictly in line with Maltese law.

Dr Muscat expressed confidence that the American University of Malta had everything in place to be given accreditation as a tertiary institution. But he made it a point to declare that the government would not interfere in the commission’s work. “I have full confidence in the autonomy of Martin Scicluna, who heads this commission,” he added.

The new plans mean the university campus will take up 18,000 square metres of virgin land at Żonqor, 80 per cent less than the original proposal that prompted stiff resistance from environmental groups.

To compensate for the difference, the government opted to rehabilitate the derelict structures at Dock No. 1 dating back to the British period and the reign of the Knights of St John.

In total, these will provide an additional footprint of 10,800 square metres.

Cospicua: some facts and figures

• Has the highest number of residents in the southern harbour region at 5,279 in 2011.

• Most of the residents are in the 50-59 age bracket.

• Cospicua is the least represented locality at the Junior College, with one per cent of people aged between 15 to 24 years, although their presence was more numerous at Mcast (4.8 per cent of the student population).

• Between 2003 and 2011, there were 85 university graduates from Cospicua.

• Between 2004 and 2008, Cospicua ranked second after Valletta for applications for social housing.

• In 2009, the residents of Cospicua and Senglea were among the localities with the highest number of social benefit recipients (14.7 per cent).

• Cospicua was used as a summer residence for the Knights and their bailiffs. They built docks in the harbour of Cospicua and, eventually, one of them became a lead docking centre for ship repair in the Mediterranean, especially during the British era.