Hondoq ir-Rummien in peril

Published on the Malta Independent by A. Jones.

The copious volumes of data that make up the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Hondoq development proposals, produced by the development applicants and their consultants for Mepa, make it almost impossible for the average citizen to make any reasoned assessment of the reports, but this of course is what the developers were hoping. Why didn’t the government appoint independent and unbiased specialists to carry out an environmental assessment for the nation?

No one disagrees that Hondoq is in need of regeneration and refurbishment considering its present dilapidated state. In the pre-2006 Local Plan, GZ-Qala-4, the Hondoq ir-Rummien area was scheduled for, ‘exploitation of the existing mineral reserves followed by rehabilitation of the area with the condition that at least 75 per cent of the site should be afforested with preference given to public open-air recreational facilities’. How was it, that these requirements were changed later in 2006 to read, ‘Development, within the boundaries of the Hondoq ir-Rummien, as indicated on map 14.8-E, for TOURISM AND MARINE RELATED USES’? I wonder who authorised the change?

The extraction of thousands of cubic metres of ‘hard rock’ (at great profit to the owners, or eventual owners of the site) to a depth well below sea level and inland to produce a new coastal contour to Gozo and to allow the removal of soil and garigue, the destruction of habitats, flora and fauna, the changes of water courses and coastal topography cannot be justified or considered compliant with even the revised, ‘questionable’ Local Plan. Not to mention the major impact such a development would have on the environment in the short- and long-term and the adverse social impact on the Gozitans, and Qala village life in particular. Where does this proposal fit into Eco-Gozo?

The developer’s argument is that the construction of the extensive hotel, chalets, apartments, shops and the marina for upper class foreign tourists and rich local visitors will improve Hondoq, the Gozo economy and employment prospects. This has not been the case with other such schemes – the Fort Chambray fiasco is one example. Do the authorities think they can do any better at Hondoq? The social and economic balance will most likely be upset, to the long-term detriment of most of the indigenous population and in particular Qala village. In addition, there is the very real danger that the short- and longer-term visitors arriving by sea to the proposed high class marina will encourage smuggling and drug trafficking, and all the other modern day sicknesses borne of greed, power and corruption that is evident in many other developed Mediterranean coastal marine settlements. Does Malta / Gozo wish to eclipse the Costa del Sol?

For the developer’s architects to say, ‘buildings will be designed in a truly Mediterranean context and that the architectural style and character will be traditionally Gozitan’. This is a pure play on words and a contradiction of the developer’s intent to produce an upmarket five-star complex. What five-star yuppie holidaymaker would be willing to stay in an average Gozitan village dwelling? In other words, the development will be more like a modern concrete jungle, a scar on the tranquil Gozo landscape.

Gozo has no more natural bays in which to develop new marinas, Hondoq does not readily provide such a site, without the proposed major quarry excavations and scarring of the island’s natural beauty. If the Maltese Islands need to increase their yacht marina capacity, as suggested in the Coordinated Report, then use the existing bay sites in Malta, e.g. turn the whole of St Paul’s Bay into a marina, if they like, not re-model Gozo’s natural land/seascape to satisfy some megalomaniac scheme set on destroying the island’s charm. The developer’s consultants argument that, ‘Marsalforn bay is geared to the mass tourism market and that only a small marina could be accommodated and that such a marina would only generate a limited economical spin-off for Gozo’, is biased and no more proven; nor is an enlarged marina at Mgarr, which was once a pleasant bay where locals used to swim. Enlarging an already disfigured area makes more sense than the destruction of Hondoq. The suggestion that the Maltese Islands, and in this case Gozo, should become, and I quote, ‘an international hub for yachting and maritime activities’ is ludicrous, as suggested earlier. If such a plan is in the minds of the government then develop the marinas in Malta, not Gozo.

The government has designated Gozo as an ‘eco-island’; if this is its true intent, it should refurbish and turn the Hondoq quarry into a heritage park for the nation and not allow it to be developed as a massive upmarket PRIVATE hotel and marina village, after first turning Qala village into a quarry site for five years or so while the developer gets rich and the local population suffers for generations to come. If this massive development is ever given the green light by the government and the planning authorities, how long will it be before the greedy, power-hungry barons of modern day Gozo take it upon themselves to develop the whole coastline between Hondoq and Mgarr to turn it into a concrete eyesore destroying this island paradise forever?

Three final points of great concern: First, does Mepa honestly have the skills or resources to control and manage a development of the size envisaged and safeguard the nation and population from exploitation and corruption? Secondly, does Malta have the power generating capacity to service the proposed development requirements – the EIS mentions 6000Mw hrs. per annum. Thirdly, as a Gozo resident and member of Wirt Ghawdex committed to the protection and preservation of Gozo’s fragile heritage, it is clear that the island does not have the infrastructure, roads, services or desire to accommodate the proposed development at Hondoq so why has the application been allowed to get this far? Maybe it would have been wiser to reject the application in 2002 before all that money was invested in the abortive and extremely lengthy Environmental Impact Statement.

Gozitans, stand up and defend your Island, this is supposed to be a modern day democracy not a feudal state of the Middle Ages. Say NO to the development project at Hondoq ir-Rummien at the forthcoming public meeting in Qala and save your country.