Returned Planning Authority CEO Johann Buttigieg has been placed on a public contract that builds to €140,000 a year. 

Buttigieg was handed the three-year contract last month, six years after stepping down from his first stint in the role, with his return to the helm of the PA expected to focus on the ever-growing backlog of planning permits.

According to his contract of employment, seen by Times of Malta in response to a Freedom of Information (FOI) request, he is entitled to a basic salary of €96,000, rising by €1,500 a year to reach €99,000. 

Buttigieg’s earnings are topped up by a 20% “disturbance allowance”, an expenses allowance of €20,000 and a €2,000 communication allowance – in addition to a fully expensed mobile phone. 

His package also entitles him to a fully expensed chauffeur-driven car, or a car allowance of over €4,600 and a driver.

The authority is also providing Buttigieg with an insurance policy that extends to his immediate dependants and is covering any private international health insurance policy he may have, while reimbursing him for all expenses while working abroad.

Should Buttigieg leave his role at the PA, he will have to adhere to an unpaid 12-month “cooling” period, during which time he will be unable to work – whether for remuneration or otherwise – for any person or company related to his PA role.

Buttigieg’s pay packet marks a significant increase since his last time in the role, when his pay package amounted to €100,000 annually.

After starting out at the PA as a case officer, Buttigieg was made the authority’s chief executive officer through direct order in June 2013. 

Buttigieg’s first tenure was marked by accusations of conflicts of interest.

He famously paid to fly a PA board member to Malta by private jet to vote on a mega-development and told then business mogul Yorgen Fenech he would “do business” with him any time.

In 2019, Buttigieg stepped down from the PA for the first time, only to be appointed CEO of the Malta Tourism Authority, a role he left in 2022.