Cabinet has approved a plan to revise Gozo's local plan to protect Ħondoq ir-Rummien from speculators, the prime minister said on Tuesday.

The plan is one of two documents related to Gozo presented to ministers during Tuesday's cabinet meeting. 

The other, titled Gozo Regional Development Strategy, lays out the government's vision for Gozo "for the next 10 years", Abela said on social media. 

Abela said the government had consulted Gozitan society, NGOs and other stakeholders in drafting the document, which has not yet been made public.

He said Gozo had to continue attracting quality employment in Gozo for Gozitans.

“We have to consolidate on what Gozo has achieved in the past years. A Gozo with more open spaces, that cares for the environment, that has strong connectivity, an island of opportunities.”

Abela's announcement about protecting Ħondoq ir-Rummien from development follows a pledge he made earlier this month to amend planning laws to ensure that Ħondoq ir-Rummien will not be developed.

His statement had followed an Appeals Court judgment that confirmed a decision by the Environment and Planning Review Tribunal to turn down an application to build a port including a hotel, yacht marina and a tourist village in Ħondoq Bay.

In November, a planning tribunal shot down developers’ appeal to forge ahead with development in the bay, closing the chapter on a 20-year saga.

Gozo Prestige Hotels, the landowners of a massive tract of land at Ħondoq had wanted to develop the 103,000 square metre site, which included a hotel, parking facilities, 25 villas, 60 apartments and 200 multi-owner properties.

In 2016, the Planning Authority reached a unanimous decision not to grant the permit, however, shortly after developers filed an appeal, claiming that their right to a fair hearing had been breached. That bid to develop the site was definitively rejected by the Appeals Court ruling.