Government urged to take back site handed to developer in Mellieħa
The site at Taż-Żnuber was transferred to a developer four years ago
The government was urged on Wednesday to take a clear stance on the proposed development at Taż-Żnuber, Mellieħa.
The NGO Il-Kollettiv and a group of residents noted in a statement that Prime Minister Robert Abela had said that government-owned land would not be handed over for development, stressing that such a move goes against his political principles.
"In view of this, the Mellieħa community is naturally questioning what will happen to the land at Taż-Żnuber, which was transferred to a developer four years ago," Il-Kollettiv said.
While answering journalists’ questions during a press conference last week, Abela stated that agreements with the private sector had been reclaimed so that the land could be returned to the public, the NGO observed.
Therefore, it said, the Mellieħa community is questioning the future of the plot of land bounded by Triq tas-Salib, Triq Salvu Camilleri and Triq Żnuber, where currently there is the proposed development of a 26-room guesthouse – with various ancillary facilities – and 28 apartments, including underground garages.
This land was government-owned until August 2022, when it was handed to a developer on a perpetual emphyteusis for €151,212 a year, in an agreement which can be revised within its first 15 years. Despite the numerous objections and a petition launched by the locality’s mayor, Gabriel Micallef the government remained tight-lipped on the issue.