The government has a new proposal for the American University of Malta that will be “better than the first”, with one part to be built in Marsascala and the other part elsewhere in the south, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said yesterday.

He said the government was determined to ensure that the south benefited from this project, which has been the subject of great controversy over the proposal to build it on virgin land at Zonqor Point.

The issue led to the setting up on a lobby group against buildings going up in outside-development zones and, two weeks ago, a public protest was held in Valletta.

The recent increase in environmental consciousness has shaken the government

Referring to those developments, Dr Muscat said the recent increase in environmental consciousness had shaken the government and the message had been received.

Speaking during the last of a series of public consultation meetings called Gvern li Jisma’ (Government that Listens), he agreed that it was not right for the whole of the country to be available for construction. However, he had to keep in mind the interests of the country.

He would ensure that building in ODZ areas would always be the last resort but there were times when it might be necessary, he said.

Speaking about public transport, he said he had told off the operator Malta Public Transport for the chaotic roll-out of the Tallinja bus cards on Wednesday.

Prime Minister Joseph Muscat addressed a gathering at Fort St Elmo, Valletta, yesterday during the last Gvern li Jisma’ public consultation meeting.

It had been obvious that this would require more manpower, he said, adding that he was glad to see the situation was already improving and the operator had admitted to mishandling the matter.

He said there would soon be a call for expressions of interest for a sea link between Cottonera and Valletta.

It was also time to take decisions on other means of transport such as the option of having a monorail, as well as looking into whether existing underground tunnels should be opened to cars, creating a new underground infrastructure. As for the Malta-Gozo bridge, he said it was definitely still on the agenda but first he wanted to look into the feasibility of a tunnel linking the two islands.

Speaking about housing, he said the government was in the process of implementing a process by which companies that owed money to the government, but did not have the cash, would start paying the government in property. That property could then be used for housing.