A call for offers has been issued for the building of the planned Gozo Aquatic Centre, the Gozo ministry announced on Saturday. 

Gozo minister Justyne Caruana said in a statement that excavation works on the 5,800 square metre site adjacent to the Victoria sports complex had been completed and that the project was moving on to the next phase.

The new €10 million complex is planned to include a pool for waterpolo and other aquatic sports, a multi-purpose community pool, gym and other facilities. 

The minister said the project was being implemented in consultation with the Aquatic Sports Association of Malta, Special Olympics, Gozo Sports Club and Otters ASC, among other bodies, and was aimed at reaching as wide a range of individuals and organisations as possible. 

The project has generated controversy after it emerged that the swimming pool, to be developed by the private sector on government land, would form part of a seven-storey hotel development. 

The Malta Tourism Authority issued clearance shortly after the 2017 general election for a 36-room hotel incorporating the aquatic centre and other facilities on the site. The PA has also issued permits for the hotel development. 

The Gozo Ministry refuted the reports, insisting that “nothing had changed on what was originally stated” and that any activities other than the planned swimming facilities would "not serve for speculation purposes but only as a service connected to the pool".

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