Environment NGO matches Portelli's offer for Fort Tigné
Din L-Art Ħelwa says its €2.5m offer is 'straightforward and serious'
Environment NGO Din L-Art Ħelwa has made a €2.5m offer to MIDI for Fort Tigné, matching a promise of sale agreement which the company said it had reached with developer Joseph Portelli for the historic site.
The proposed sale was announced in mid-December, with the developer interested in turning the disused fort into a hotel.
The prime minister subsequently described the plan as 'obscene'.
MIDI plc holds Fort Tigné on temporary emphyteusis from the government.
"Our offer is straightforward and serious," said Patrick Calleja, executive president of Din l-Art Ħelwa. "We are prepared to match the commercial agreement presently on the table but with one fundamental difference: our plan ensures Fort Tigné is preserved, restored and opened to the public. We are providing MIDI with a prudent path to fulfil its financial objective while resolving a matter of significant public concern. The nation regains a key historic asset and the controversy surrounding the site’s future is finally concluded."
DLH said that as suggested by the prime minister, it is ready to collaborate with the government and present a conceptual proposal for Fort Tigné.
It called on MIDI to acknowledge the offer and to engage in discussions to take the matter forward.
Its offer, it said, aligned with the clear national consensus articulated by the prime minister, who stated that turning the historic fort into a hotel would be "obscene”.
"Therefore, it is understood that the government will exercise its right of veto to prevent this eventuality. The prime minister is also on record stating that the Government is open to ideas for the repurposing of the fort," DLH pointed out.