Gasco Energy was given the green light to build a €25 million gas plant in a disused quarry and was exempted from paying over €98,000 in planning fees because the project is of national interest.

The Liquefied Petroleum Gas depot, located in the centre of Birżebbuġa for years, will move to the outskirts of the town, in an area known as Il-Qajjenza, after the planning authority yesterday approved the full development permit.

The company argued for the project to be exempted from the planning gain, which is a sort of community fee that developers are asked to pay to counter the effect of their project on the surroundings. Gasco referred to a recent legal notice, which waived the fee for projects of national interest.

The planning gain is calculated according to a set formula - €1.16 per square metre - and the money is put into a common fund overseen by Mepa. Part of the money is sometimes given to the local council directly affected by a project to be used in the locality.

Birżebbuġa mayor Joseph Farrugia welcomed the permit's approval, saying it was positive. "At least, the gas plant will move away from the residents and no longer be in the town centre. But it's a pity the planning gain was waived as we could have used the money for the community's benefit," he said when contacted.

The new gas depot will be close to the Freeport and will include a storage and bottling plant and a distribution depot, which will be connected with a pipeline to the Oil Tanking depot. The pipeline eliminates the inconvenience caused by large ships, carrying imported gas, entering Birżebbuġa bay.

The planning authority imposed a bank guarantee of €500,000 binding Gasco Energy to remove all traces of its former equipment from its present site in Bengħajsa.

It also approved an outline development permit to restore an old bakery in Pietà, called Blackley Bakery. Restoration and internal reversible works will be allowed in Blackley's Bakery.