The Piano project should unite the Maltese people, not divide them, Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi said in Parliament yesterday. Enough time had been given for discussion, he added.

Dr Gonzi said the project would include not just City Gate and the old opera house, but would also allow the President's Palace and St George's Square to become the living core of Maltese civilisation. They should make the people proud to be Maltese and be a show-window of all that made up the Maltese identity.

The Palace could only be given back its due dignity if Parliament and other offices were moved out, because the various adaptations to national exigencies over the years had lost it part of its historical value.

The Prime Minister said that in spite of all opinions and discussions of the best possible location for Parliament, Freedom Square needed a new building to balance the existence of the block of apartments on the other side.

Dr Gonzi said the Piano project, but especially the construction of a new Parliament, was no ego trip. There was absolutely no reason for Maltese politicians to be ashamed of their involvement in politics or of the country's political history. The country needed a better-functioning Parliament, which as a building would also enhance the Maltese tourist image.

Capital projects created jobs, he said, and this project would create hundreds of them. When Opposition Leader Joseph Muscat asked if the €20 million that the Prime Minister had indicated would be needed each year for four years to finance the project had been set aside this year, Dr Gonzi said it would have made no sense to lay aside €20 million this year when all that the project had cost so far was €1.32 million.

The project would cost €80 million over four years, but funds would be voted every year in step with what the project would be estimated to cost in that particular year. The money would come from the Consolidated Fund.