The db Group said on Saturday it had "nothing to hide and nothing to fear" over the highly-controversial City Centre project in Pembroke.
The group said it welcomed the European Commission’s scrutiny as much as it has welcomed that of local institutions from the start.
It was reacting to comments made by EU Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager who said the Commission is not in a position to pronounce itself on whether the transfer resulted in the grant of State aid.
Read: Possibility of state aid rules breach in db Group’s ITS project raised
The Planning Authority last month decided in favour of the db Group’s proposed 38-storey tower and 17-storey hotel at the Institute of Tourism Studies (ITS) site in St George’s Bay.
The project was approved despite unprecedented opposition from local councils, residents and environmental groups.
For the first time in Maltese history, the market value of public land has been set by an auditing firm of global reputation, namely Deloitte
But in a statement, the db Group underlined what it called as a transparent process leading to major investment in Malta.
It said that for the first time in Maltese history, the market value of public land has been set by an auditing firm of global reputation, namely Deloitte.
Using the formula established by Deloitte, the db Group will be paying a total of €60 million euro for the land in question, the "highest price ever paid" per square meter for a comparable project in the last 20 years.
Under oath in court, a Deloitte partner declared that they met with various promoters of similar projects in St Julian's “to understand exactly the market in the area”. Following these meetings, and keeping the requirements of the RFP in view, he reconfirmed under oath that €60 million was in fact the market value of the City Centre site.
The db Group will be investing €300 million in the project, making it the largest private investment by an individual in the history of Malta.
In total, the City Centre project will generate around €490 million of direct revenue to government over a 10-year period, it said.
Once the project is completed, the contract obliges the db Group to create 1,500 jobs. Failing this target, the group will have to pay a penalty. This is apart from the work and jobs created during the construction phase.
It also invited concrete financial comparisons with public land transfers in the past, present and, crucially, the future, using the same formula established by Deloitte.
"It is worth recalling that the group had publicly embraced, and still does, the review of the land transfer by the National Audit Office. We have nothing to hide and nothing to fear..."