The Malta Developers Association insisted today that changes to the masterplan for SmartCity must be accompanied by a higher price for the land given to the developers.  

"It is obvious that the changes requested are a radical departure from the original purpose of the project that was meant to be an IT hub employing over 5,000 persons.

"While that vision could have justified the very low price with which public land was transferred to the developers of SmartCity, the proposed changes in the masterplan render the project another real estate development in competition with private developers who pay very high prices to purchase developable sites," the MDA said. 

"In the circumstances, the MDA strongly insists that the requested changes in the SmartCity masterpan should only be approved by Parliament if the cost of the land to the developers is increased substantially and equitably to match current market prices."

READ: SmartCity seeking changes to area's master plan

The association said it had been professionally advised that the current state of the property market is a very healthy one and that the possibility of a property bubble was very remote.

"However, the sudden addition of a large number of residential units built on land acquired at an unreasonably low cost could negatively affect the current positive outlook of the property market."

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