UPDATED

The Labour Party has demanded a transparent and independent investigation into how land which was used for fire training by the Civil Protection Department  ended up in the hands of a private company.

The shadow minister for home affairs, Michael Falzon, said at a press conference that he would insist in parliament that the relevant contract should be made public.

This, he said, was an obscene scandal and the new directors of the Department of Land and of the CPD disagreed with what had taken place.

He said that in 2006, in reply to a question by then Nationalist MP Franco Galea, then Home Affairs Minister Tonio Borg said that the private company had a concession to use the fire station grounds at Hal Far.

In 2009 in reply to a question by Labour MP Joe Mizzi, minister Carm Mifsud Bonnici said an agreement was signed in April of that year for the private company to use the CPD facilities.

Dr Falzon said there was a difference between having a concession and having a right to use the land and the government should declare what title the company had.

He said that in 2010 the minister had refused to say what title for the land was held by the company.

The relevant contract was missing for quite some time before the Office of the Prime Minister intervened and it was found on an official's desk.

Dr Falzon said procedures laid down by the law, including a call for tenders and a parliamentary motion, had to be followed for public land to be transferred to the private sector and an investigation was needed in this case.

GOVERNMENT'S REPLY

In a reply, the Ministry responsible for land said that contrary to what Dr Falzon said, the land in question was transferred on temporary emphyteusis to International Safety Training Centre Ltd  after a call for tender issued two years ago. ISTC was the only bidder. The Civil Protection Department can still continue to use the facilities. All legal requirements were followed and the process was fully transparent.

The ministry explained that the Civil Protection Department had for many years used a stretch of land of 23,080 square metres and it would continue to do so.

In terms of an agreement signed on April 7, 2000 International Safety Training Centre Limited could use two adjacent sites for Lm7,000 per annum, apart from other payments by all participants in training courses.

On April 11 this year the land was transferred to ISTC on temporary emphyteusis for 50 years for a groundrent of €33,000 per annum following a call for tender issued in 2010. Since 2000 the company had already invested more than €1 million on upgrading these sites including a pool area, fire demo area, heli pad area, ship simulation area, fire drill area and pump room along with other installations so that the company could promote its services for overseas clients.

The ministry asked whether the PL was against such private investment which attracted overseas business to Malta.