New 151-room hotel proposed in Gżira as mayor says town is becoming 'Sliema 2'
Proposal would see Gasan Mamo head office converted into a hotel
Plans to convert the Gasan Mamo head office in Gzira into a three-star hotel have been recently published on the Planning Authority’s website.
Should the application (PA 03852/26) be accepted, 151 more rooms will be added to Gżira’s increasing stock of tourist accommodation.
Contacted for comment, Gżira mayor Neville Chetcuti expressed concern over the increasing number of hotels in his locality.
“We’re in a situation where Gżira is becoming Sliema 2,” he said.
Documents available online show that the Malta Tourism Authority said it has no objection to the plans.
The new three-star hotel, dubbed “The Corner Hotel”, will see additional floors added to the current building and will rise up to 10 storeys. A bar and pool area are also proposed at roof level.
Julian Mamo, on behalf of Gasan Mamo Insurance, is applying for the project. The project’s architect is Malcolm Xuereb.
The round building on the roundabout near the abandoned Empire Stadium is opposite the Muscat Motors building, which is slated for partial demolition and the subsequent construction of a high-rise tower that includes another hotel.
At the town’s seafront, high-profile developer Michael Stivala has applied to demolish two three-storey buildings on the Gżira seafront and replace them with a 90-room hotel spread across 13 floors and a basement level.
Stivala also owns two other hotels on the Strand.
Speaking to Times of Malta, Gżira mayor Neville Chetcuti said tourism and commerce were not necessarily a bad thing.
“But you have to ask if we can handle it, in terms of infrastructure and the impact it will have on residents”.
“So many hotels are popping up, and I have no idea how many guesthouses there are in Gżira now”.
He said some sort of compensation should be offered to the town to make good for this.
Chetcuti said he will bring the matter of increasing hotels to council at their next meeting, adding that local councils must be consulted from the very beginning about such plans.