The poor response to the calls for expressions for a logistical hub was a great disappointment but the government must find the right elements to make this plan an economic sector, Economy Minister Chris Cardona said today at the EY Attractiveness conference.

Dr Cardona was referring to the fact that plans to create logistics hub at Ħal Far had flopped when an international request for proposals had not even received a single bid. 

Logistics, which has been trumpeted at previous conferences, this year slid down the rankings as a sector which would drive growth in the economy over the coming five years. Only 14 per cent of the respondents to the EY survey listed it as a key driver.

Dr Cardona said that following the failed call for expressions, the government had consulted international operators to get feedback and had identified various institutional and regulatory stumbling blocks that might have deterred bidders.

“We still believe that Malta has advantages as a logistics hub, but we need to have the right elements to make this a success. I have no doubt that logistics will one day go up the ladder of the EY survey,” he said.

“The first step is to set up an ecosystem and to motivate local operators to brand Malta in this sphere,” Dr Cardona added.

He was being interviewed by the EY country managing partner Ronald Attard at the end of the conference, who said that the focus on logistics had not been in vain as it had led to a logistics sector being set up within the Malta Chamber of Commerce, Enterprise and Industry.