Only contract signing left before work on planned Armier campsite starts

Another summer is approaching and Silvio Abela of Adventure, Camping and Leisure Co. is still not in a position to open his campsite at Dahlet ix-Xmajjar in the limits of Armier.

However, it is now just a matter of time and money after he overcame yet another hurdle that had stopped him in his tracks.

Mr Abela had thought that he had surmounted the final hurdle when the government evicted an individual who had been working without title on a substantial part of the land allocated to him by the Lands Department.

The individual had filed a constitutional case claiming he had title to the land from which he was evicted.

After the court handed down a favourable decision confirming the eviction, the individual appealed, delaying the process yet again, but the court of appeal upheld the original decision.

Mr Abela, who is holding his 10th annual Camping Fair at the Kennedy Grove, said that all that remains now is the signing of the contract with the Lands Department before he can start work on the Lm250,000 camping project.

Mr Abela had applied for Planning Authority permits to develop the site in 1998 and was given the go-ahead in June 2001.

"The court case was a setback and I will certainly not be in time to provide the planned facilities at the site by summer. However, I am optimistic that the site will open next year," he said.

Once developed, the 30 tumoli would include toilets, showers, a launderette, a dish washing area, a coffee shop and a camping shop besides recreational areas and the space for between 95 and 150 tents. The area would also be attractively landscaped.

Mr Abela, a strong believer in camping tourism as a niche market that has yet to be tapped, said he was actively answering requests from foreign campers and contacting camping agencies in Germany, Sweden, Austria, the Netherlands and the UK to inform them about developments about the site in Malta.

He said a foreign agency recently contacted him with a view to organising a camping holiday for 300 persons. But this was not possible for the time being, he said.

The six-week camping fair at Kennedy Grove in Salina, which will remain open until May 25, exhibits a wide selection of tents ranging from small ones to family frame tents.

As in previous years, a number of families have set up their own tent at Kennedy Grove near the exhibition area.

The fair was this year held later than usual because of the election.