Companies based at Hal Far industrial estate will be investing €32 million in extensions, and Malta Enterprise has just approved requests for more industrial space and new factories to meet their needs, Finance Minister Tonio Fenech said this afternoon.

Speaking at Hal Far during a press conference to mark the fourth year of this legislature, Mr Fenech said the investment would create hundreds of new jobs.

The investment would be made by, among others, Trelleborg and Playmobil.

He said that in this legislature, factories in Hal Far alone had invested €55 million and now employed 500 more workers than they did in 2008.

The situation, Mr Fenech said, contrasted sharply with the gloom which the Opposition had painted for this sector.

Mr Fenech noted that Hal Far and other industrial zones had benefited from a €16 million upgrading project which included new roads and services.

In his press conference Mr Fenech said that up to the end of April, 1,300 firms had benefited from the government's Microinvest scheme to encourage investment Their investment exceeded €21 million. Tax credits for a total of €6 million had so far been issued to 700 companies under this scheme. A third of the companies were based in Gozo.

A further 250 businesses benefited from the Jeremie MicroCredit scheme since March, with total investment reaching €35 million.

The minister listed capital investment projects carried out under his ministry, including the power station extension, the interconnector and sewage treatment plants. He said the power station extension would be completed within a few months, meeting the highest EU environmental standards.

All this was possible, he stressed, because the state of public finances was healthy. However, he said, financial sustainability remained a government priority.