An iron manufacturing firm is developing a €3 million industrial plant on 3,500 square metres of Ħal Far land given to it by the government, the Economy Ministry said on Monday. 

General Maintenance Ltd. will be adding around 20 new jobs to the 50 employees already on its books, among them engineers, designers, CNC programmers, welders and fabricators.

The company, which is majority-owned by Marco Camilleri, manufactured a 110m long iron structure used in the Blata l-Bajda pedestrian bridge project, high-security fencing around the Army Bomb Disposal Unit at Fort Mosta, the new Enemed fuel storage pipelines in Ħas Saptan, and work on pipelines for a superyacht in Spain. 

The €3m investment will cover hangar, machinery and automation equipment costs, with the company eyeing expansion locally and internationally into north Africa. 

The Ħal Far site was granted to it by government Agency INDIS Malta, which succeeded Malta Industrial Parks. 

Speaking while inaugurating this investment, the minister said that Malta’s economic resilience was thanks to ambitious entrpreneurs who “courageously strive to maintain their competitive advantage not only in the local market but also by traversing abroad and seeking to compete with their heads held high in international markets.” 

He said Malta had acquired a strong reputation internationally and said General Maintenance Ltd. had grown from a local business to ones with ties to the Spanish, French and Italian markets over 30 years. 

Schembri ended with a message for local business owners: “we are with you to help you grow your infrastructure operations and to open the doors to international business opportunities. In exchange, we expect investment in workers, who are the backbone of the Maltese economy.”