A luxury spa is to be developed at the former military barracks outside Mosta where a controversial shooting range had originally been planned.

The proposal for the range, which was to have been located near Mount St Joseph Retreat Home, was scrapped by the government.

It will now be replaced by a 30-room boutique hotel and spa, the Times of Malta is informed.

Discussions between the government and the developers, the Busbesija Group, are in an advanced stage and the two sides are expected to sign the contract within the next few weeks.

The group is owned by GP Borg Construction, one of Malta’s leading building firms. Its spa idea was ranked in second place after a call was made for proposals on how to make use of the derelict Busbesija barracks.

A spokesman for the group confirmed they planned to develop the ODZ site into a small boutique hotel with agritourism facilities.

“We prefer calling this project a retreat house instead of a hotel as it will be a new concept for Malta,” the spokesman said.

“We have proposed a state-of-the-art facility which will totally respect the environment. There will be no need to undertake any new construction as we will be using the current barracks and turning them into a 30-room luxury accommodation with a spa and restaurant.

“Our project perfectly fits the site plan issued by the government in the tender.”

Asked whether the development will need new roads and access, the spokesman said this should not be the case.

As soon as negotiations are concluded, an application for a development permit will be submitted to the Malta Environment and Planning Authority. The contract to transfer the land will also need the approval of Parliament.

The abandoned World War II barracks outside Mosta.

‘No need for any new construction work’

Originally, the Russian-owned U-Group had been chosen by the government to turn the old military area into a fully-fledged shooting range.

The range would however have been 10 times the size of the current World War II barracks and had stirred up a hornet’s nest, with NGOs, environmentalists, neighbours and the Jesuit community – whose Mount St Joseph retreat facility is just metres away – opposing this development.

We prefer calling this project a retreat house instead of a hotel as it will be a new concept for Malta

In the face of mounting public pressure, the government had dismissed the project, saying the group had “failed the due diligence process”. The government said the group did not meet the financial requisites.

Although new to the hotel industry, the GP Borg Group is diversifying its business model.

Asked why the construction business wanted to enter the hotel industry with no experience in the field, the spokesman said the group was planning to open a new boutique hotel in Valletta, to be named Palazzo Consiglia, with 13 rooms.

“The group is now administered by a new generation and decided to get into new business ventures. The Busbesija retreat home is another step in this direction,” the spokesman said.

The group did not wish to disclose the size of its investment in the new project, saying it first wanted to wrap up negotiations with the government.

ivan.camilleri@timesofmalta.com