Freeport concession extended

The government yesterday extended the 30-year concession to 65 for a French company to operate and develop the Malta Freeport.

A €130 million (Lm55.77 million) investment will aim at increasing the Freeport's container handling capacity to three million a year, add some 500 jobs and train workers so as "to make Malta the best port in the Mediterranean," the president of CMA CGM, Jacques Saadé, said after signing the agreement.

The agreement, described by the Prime Minister as "historical", was signed yesterday by Mr Saadé on behalf of CMA CGM and by Investment Minister Austin Gatt for the government.

The relationship of CMA CGM - the world's third largest container shipping company - and the Freeport started in October 2004 when the company was awarded a 30-year concession to operate and develop the Freeport.

Since then, CMA CGM have invested some €45 million (Lm19.32 million), created 143 jobs, and increased the number of containers handled annually from 1.2 million in 2002 to 1.9 million last year.

Yesterday's agreement came in response to increasing international traffic, the company said.

The new investment will go for the dredging of the seabed from 15.5 to 17 metres to allow the berthing of larger vessels, a 133,000 square metre expansion of the yard area, installation of modern equipment, an expansion of Terminal 1 West Quay and the training of workers.

Dr Gatt said the "success story" of the Freeport had two main underlying messages.

One was to leave to the private sector what it could do better than the government. "It is not true the government can create the wealth the private sector can," he said. Secondly, it is about believing in the people and that the country can achieve everything together, because the Maltese are used to hard work and achievement.

"In doing this, we have to find the right partner," he said adding that partnering with CMA CGM ensured success.

On his part, Dr Gonzi said it was with "enormous satisfaction" that, at the end of this legislature and on the eve of a general election, the government was concluding by registering an enlargement of a major investment.

The privatisation of the operation and management of the Freeport started off with a partnership with CMA CGM which, over the past three years, had grown in strength proportionally with the growth in strength of the country, he said.