10 years ago - The Times
Monday, October 20, 2008
Offshore wind farm to cost €130 million
The proposed offshore wind farm at Sikka l-Bajda is expected to cost some €130 million and the government is also looking into the possibility of building wind turbines on land, Resources Minister George Pullicino said yesterday.
Speaking at the PN’s general council Mr Pullicino said the private sector will be given the opportunity to invest in the offshore wind farm project. The Netherlands-based company Blue H Technologies, in fact, has already confirmed its interest in developing such a wind farm, with a spokesman quoted by website windfair.net saying that the company’s technology would be ideal for local conditions.
The company – one of nine to submit an expression of interest for offshore wind farm development two years ago – specialises in the development of offshore wind farms. The government is so far not excluding wholly private investment, saying that this matter is still being studied and would be decided at a later stage. “What is important is to start the development application process and in the meantime carry out a number of studies,” he told the Times. There are no set time frames in place either. However, the project is expected to take some four to five years to come to fruition, especially because of the high demand that exists for the turbines.
25 years ago - The Times
Wednesday, October 20, 1993
GWU threatens industrial action against Air Malta
Air Malta and the General Workers’ Union were yesterday on a collision course which looks set to ground the airline completely by noon today.
The two are at issue over various pending claims by the union. An airline statement following a GWU news conference hinted that the airline seemed resigned to industrial action, which might bring it to a complete standstill for the first time in its 20 years of life.
The threat of industrial action, including grounding Air Malta, was made yesterday by GWU Port and Transport Section secretary Tony Zarb, who told a news conference the decision for industrial action was taken in a secret vote by the section’s 32 group committees, in which 31 voted for and one representative abstained.
Eighty per cent of Air Malta’s employees are members of the GWU, Mr Zarb said. They are resorting to their action because the union cannot wait any longer for Air Malta to act on issues on which discussions have been dragging without any positive result.
Mr Zarb said the deadline the union was giving related to all issues: there had to be agreement by noon today on all of them, not on some.
Half a century ago - Sunday times of Malta
Sunday, October 20, 1968
Maltese editors leave tomorrow on UK tour
Mr Anthony Montanaro, editor of The Sunday Times of Malta, is leaving Malta tomorrow morning, with three other Maltese editors, on a three-week visit to the United Kingdom. They will be the guests of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
The other three Maltese editors on the trip are Mr Anthony Farrugia, of the General Workers’ Union weekly It-Torċa, Father Hilary Tagliaferro, of Il-Ħaddiem, a Maltese daily, and Mr Emmanuel Zammit, co-editor of Iż-Żmien, Malta Labour Party organ.
The group will be the first overseas visitors visiting the UK as guests of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office since its formation, earlier this week, by the amalgamation of the former Foreign Office and Commonwealth Office.
Nato essay prize winners on board HMS Torquay
Ten students from secondary schools in Malta were the guests of the Royal Navy for a day at sea on Friday in the anti-submarine frigate HMS Torquay. The students had obtained places in this year’s Nato essay competition.