White Rocks Development Co. is expected to sign an agreement with the government for a €400 million development in Baħar iċ-Ċagħaq shortly. For Alpine chairman Tony Zahra there is a sense of déjà vu: he formed part of the consortium that won the 1999 bid for the site. He tells Vanessa Macdonald why he never gave up.

What actually happened to the 1999 bid?

We had a vision for a tourism development and asked for a small number of residential units to create a mixed-use facility.

An article consortium partner Paul Abela wrote in 2010 gave a step in-between: he wrote you had agreed with then tourism minister Michael Refalo on the main aspects of the project, but when Francis Zammit Dimech took on that post he did not recognise the agreement. He was accused of changing the goalposts… That is when you asked for the real estate, no?

It has been a number of years and I would prefer to talk about our present project… The previous project had difficulties when there was a change of minister. But why not leave that case closed instead of reopening it?

Perhaps the place is jinxed. There was then Clyde Puli proposing a sports village, which also ended up without resolution.

It is not jinxed but it is coming round to what we said at the time: that it must be a mixed-use destination. It took the government 25 years to come round.

Sometimes, this is what really annoys me about this island. It takes years for the government to listen to what we are saying. It’s happening with the [national] airline too: we said it was crazy to go with Alitalia and crazy to shrink Air Malta. Now, they are doing exactly what we told them. Maybe we were right on White Rocks too.

There were 11 proposals in response to the 2015 request for bidders. Why did yours win?

I think everyone who is anyone on the island was in one consortium or another. One of them had 40 partners! All of them made it to the second round. The second part of the bidding process took some five months, but only three went ahead, including us, perhaps because they did not think it was feasible. Consider that we will be spending €80 million just on infrastructure, including roads, drainage and so on, unprecedented in Malta. This project will not work unless you have a long-term vision.

We eventually merged with the second bidder, leaving us and a Kuwaiti consortium.

So, what did you offer that the Kuwaitis did not?

Our vision was better, although I am obviously biased. But their financial bid was well below ours.

We are paying top dollar for the site.

There has not been any project in the recent past that has been so transparent.

You are only proposing to build up 15 per cent of the 450,000 square metre site. Do the sums still make sense?

Indeed, 100,000 square metres will be left as a heritage park. The buildings will be low-rise and there will be gardens, open spaces, a restored shoreline... This is what will make this product different. It will not be overbuilt or overdeveloped.

The definition of low-lying could cover quite a range nowadays.

The land there slopes considerably, and all the properties – except the hotel – will be three storeys high or less. That means that as you drive down the road from Madliena, you will enjoy the same views, including the residents from the other side of the road. Actually, they will be considerably better.

In the 1999 bid, your partner hotel brand was the Spanish Sol Melia. Have you got a brand lined up for the 7-star hotel you have planned?

A number of brands are interested. Our UK partner, London & Regional Properties (L&R), is a private company run by the Livingstone brothers, with net asset values of over £5 billion and experience in both hotels and real estate in numerous countries.

Our consortium has brought together expertise in international developments with a proven track record but also stakeholders with a lot of experience: the Mizzi Group, Michael Bianchi and our group [Alpine] with contractors. In the end, this is what makes the difference between success and failure: having people who know what they are doing, with a long-term vision.

We have a team of renowned British architects – who we prefer not to name for the moment – supported by a local architect of great repute. A considerable amount of work has already been done and we have advanced plans. Once the agreement is signed, we expect the environmental impact assessment to take under a year.

Another important aspect is that because of the size of the site, all the work – even mixing concrete – will be done there, so we will not disrupt traffic or cause inconvenie

nce.

 

Development has become a four-letter word for many people. How will eNGOs react to this project?

We already talked to one or two organisations, and there has been some positive reaction. And of course, we are happy to meet with anyone who has questions… and to take on board suggestions.

What are we doing here? We are not taking a property and exploiting every inch of it – or extending the footprint in any way. We are taking something that is in a very dilapidated state and redeveloping it, making it pleasant for future generations.

It is a long time since we had a development that people were proud of, that the stakeholders were proud of.

The size of Malta is what it is. We cannot just keep adding more and more. We want to get better and better. This project will be at the top end of the market.

The project in a nutshell

• 7-star luxury hotel, whose facilities will be open to the residents as guests

• 300 top-end residential units, with caretaker services available

• Managed common areas and public spaces, as well as public access to the embellished shoreline

• Construction phase employment: 2,000

Urban myth?

“When George Borg Olivier was negotiating the terms of Malta’s independence, there were fears that the British would retain part of the island as its own territory for a services base, as they did in Cyprus. And the territory they had in mind was White Rocks…”

Redevelopment timeline

1960s: The complex served as the quarters for married British troops, and after their departure, it was converted into a tourist resort until it closed down in 1995.

1999: The Nationalist government issued a call for proposals for a 1,000-bed tourism complex. Five bids were made, and two were shortlisted, but one dropped out, leaving Costa San Andrea in pole position.

2003: The outline planning permit was issued, but a new tourism minister had his own ideas for the project. Costa San Andrea wanted 10 per cent of the project to be real estate, but this was turned down and the project simply fell through.

2010: A €200 million sports village was announced by the Nationalist government without any bidding process. White Rocks Holdings (which included Mott McDonald of Paceville master plan fame) and Resolution Property were to be the developers. The controversial project also fell through.

2015: The Labour government issued a call for proposals for a mixed-use development of hotel and luxury accommodation.