Hondoq and power station extension projects are not cases of sustainable development, PL says

Published on the Malta Independent.

Under the theme, ‘Tourism and Biodiversity’, World Tourism Day was celebrated around the globe yesterday, with the Opposition calling on the government to practise what it preaches and ensure that any development which takes place does not destroy Malta’s environmental landscape.

The Labour Party’s (PL) shadow minister for tourism, Marie-Louise Coleiro-Preca, said in a statement yesterday that tourism will remain the pillar of Malta’s economy in the years ahead, but strengthening this sector of the economy should not come at the cost of destroying the environment.

She cited the Delimara power station extension and the proposed Hondoq ir-Rummien project as two examples which the Labour Party feels do not fall under the category of ‘sustainable development’, but which, in her own words, “are two projects which are playing a big part in the destruction of Malta’s biodiversity”.