'Approval of land reclaation projects far from automatic'
Published on the Malta Independent on Sunday 21st April, 2013 by John Cordina.
Parliamentary Secretary for Planning Michael Farrugia urged local developers to come up with innovative land reclamation projects – but stressed that the government would pull the plug on projects that would have an unacceptable impact on their surroundings.
Dr Farrugia was asked to comment on the government’s policy on land reclamation policy during yesterday morning’s edition of Għandi x’Ngħid, a current affairs programme hosted by Andrew Azzopardi on Radju Malta.
While reports drawn up by the Malta Environment and Planning Authority in past years have identified certain sites as most suited to land reclamation, the new government will not impose any restrictions when it issues a call for interest in the coming weeks, Dr Farrugia stressed. The aim was to encourage developers to “use their imagination” and to come up with innovative proposals.
The Labour Party in government had included land reclamation in its electoral manifesto, but Dr Farrugia stressed that land reclamation projects ultimately depended on the private sector’s interest – and on what their impact would be.
He said that environmentalists would be involved in the evaluation of proposals, and that the government would refuse proposals if their impact were unacceptable.
Dr Farrugia was also asked to comment on the decision to lower tariffs, with Dr Azzopardi questioning whether he feared this would lead to overdevelopment.
The parliamentary secretary said he did not favour increasing the construction of apartments, but pointed out that high tariffs mainly affected businesses and projects that redeveloped dilapidated sites.
No new Ħondoq plans without new EIA – Qala NGO
Earlier in the programme, which focused on development, the topic of discussion turned to proposals to develop the Ħondoq ir-Rummien bay in Qala.
On 2 May, Mepa’s appeals tribunal is to decide whether to accept fresh plans by developers Gozo Prestige – the authority had refused to do so in 2011 – and the Moviment Ħarsien ĦondoqNGO is insisting that this decision should be confirmed.
Gozo Prestige’s original plans included a yacht marina, a 5-star hotel and over 200 apartments. Their new plans do away with the marina – they have proposed to build a swimming lagoon instead – and reduce the number of apartments.
MĦĦ secretary Paul Buttigieg, a Qala councillor, reiterated the NGO’s objection to the project – he said that while the organisation was not opposed to sustainable development in Gozo, the project was anything but.
As for the appeals tribunal’s decision, Mr Buttigieg was adamant that no new plans should be accepted without an Environmental Impact Assessment, since they effectively meant that the project was now completely different.
Asked to comment on the project, Malta Developers Association president Michael Falzon said that the association, as a policy, did not speak in favour of or against proposed projects.
But when he was pressed to state his personal opinion, Mr Falzon remarked that he was “quite against” the project.
However, he also pointed out that the abandoned seawater distillation plant on site, which has long been in disuse, should be reutilised, wondering whether the Maltese would be able to do so without embarking on a massive project.
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