Prime Minister Joseph Muscat should immediately guarantee the Żonqor land in an outside development zone selected for the university is no longer an option in the face of widespread opposition, the Nationalist Party said yesterday.
The Opposition urged the Prime Minister to guarantee Żonqor Point would not be touched by development and it would not be handed over to Jordanian “speculators”.
The call was made by environment shadow minister Marthese Portelli with reference to the site earmarked for the building of a new university in the south by a Jordanian investor, whose primary commercial interests, she said, were construction and tourism.
“I expect the Prime Minister to heed public opposition. I hope common sense will prevail,” Dr Portelli said.
She noted that those who had publicly come out against the government’s decision included the Labour deputy mayor of Marsascala, environmental NGOs, the Archbishop, students, the Church’s environment commission, the Chamber of Commerce, the Malta Employers’ Association, lecturers, farmers and Labour MP Marlene Farrugia.
Education Minister Evarist Bartolo also said on the TV programme TimesTalk that the government should seek an alternative site.
This shows Mepa is in bed with the government
Dr Portelli also referred to lawyers whom Times of Malta quoted yesterday saying Mepa had overstepped its authority when selecting the site, since it did not have the power to recommend sites for development.
“This shows Mepa is in bed with the government. Mepa’s role is to regulate development activity, and it should be independent,” she said.
Nationalist MP Ryan Callus underscored the PN proposal for the new university to be located in the former fuel station in Birżebbuġa.
“The site being contaminated doesn’t mean it’s not a valid candidate. It needs to be dismantled and decontaminated anyway. We will hit two birds with one stone, and the university will be built in the south. We have always said we are in favour of the project but not on ODZ land,” he said.