White Rocks is still without its preferred bidder as the government mulls over recommendations made by an evaluation and adjudication committee.
The Economy Ministry yesterday confirmed it had received a report from the committee that evaluated the bids submitted by two consortiums.
The submissions were madeby International Trade Holdings Company KSC and White Rocks Development Company for the development of a touristic project on the White Rocks site in Pembroke.
The report includes a recommendation on which of the two companies should be considered the preferred bidder.
“The government is now expected to deliberate on the report before appointing a team to negotiate the concession with the preferred bidder,” a spokeswoman for the Economy Ministry said.
The Malta Independent yesterday reported that negotiations had already started with White Rocks Development Company after it was chosen as the preferred bidder. It quoted unnamed sources putting the amount of investment at €200 million and the price for the concession at €22 million.
The newspaper said the company had initially failed to include a hotel in its bid and only accepted to do so after negotiations. This raised eyebrows among private operators, since this would have breached the conditions laid down in the request for proposals.
However, the ministry spokeswoman yesterday insisted it was “mandatory for eligible submissions to include an upmarket hotel” as part of the project.
The request for proposals had made it clear that plans for the seaside site that sprawls over 450,000 square metres had to cater for an “upmarket tourism” project that included an “upmarket hotel”. The project was also expected to include a residential component.
The ministry insisted it was “premature” to comment on the value of the concession and the capital investment proposed.
“However, the Economy Ministry would like to assure that the value of the concession and the capital investment proposed is much higher than that mentioned in media reports and reflects the proper value and economic potential of the designated area,” the spokeswoman said.
The White Rocks project will be the second major concession of public land in the area after the ITS site.
The Privatisation Unit handled the White Rocks bidding process , unlike the concession for the site overlooking St George’s Bay where the Institute for Tourism Studies is situated, which was handled by Projects Malta.
The preferred bidder for the ITS site is a company formed by the Seabank Group. It was the only bidder.
Controversy surrounds the ITS bid, since the developer has already started marketing apartments in two residential towers and taking deposits on reservations, even though the public land has not yet been transferred.