'No mystery' in PM-Piano meeting

There was nothing mysterious about the Prime Minister's planned meeting with Italian architect Renzo Piano, which was only intended to ensure that the Valletta City Gate project was on track, Lawrence Gonzi said yesterday.

"The meeting will be a normal client-architect meeting to make sure all is done as it should be. There are no secrets," Dr Gonzi said during a Nationalist Party activity in Naxxar.

Dr Gonzi had mentioned the meeting with Mr Piano in-passing during a similar Sunday morning party activity two weeks ago.

He had said he would be meeting Mr Piano to discuss "particular points" of the project, without elaborating.

When contacted for more information about the nature of the meeting, a spokesman for the Prime Minister's Office had said it was best not to divulge the nature of these "particular points" at that stage. This only served to shroud the meeting in mystery.

Yesterday, however, Dr Gonzi laughed off theories about the mysterious nature of the meeting, adding there were "no secrets".

Some people, he joked, had made it sound as though he was meeting Mr Piano to plan a coup.

The City Gate project has always been a source of contention. When Mr Piano first proposed his plans for the area, some 20 years ago, they were rejected following intense controversy mainly surrounding the Royal Opera House.

The heated debate was rekindled last summer when Mr Piano unveiled his new plans for City Gate and the Opera House.

Under the new plans, the new Parliament building will be elevated on "stilts" in Freedom Square, the Opera House site ruins will be transformed into an open-air theatre and City Gate will be demolished to create a more modest and meaningful entrance, while restoring Republic Street as the capital's spine.

Works on the project are expected to start this year once the Malta Environment and Planning Authority gives its go-ahead.