Malta Industrial Parks is being rebranded as Industrial Innovative Solutions (INDIS) Malta and it will spearhead the government's €470 million multi-year industrial infrastructure programme, the prime minister announced on Thursday.

The eight-year programme was announced in the budget speech last month and will see an upgrading of industrial estates to provide more space for industrial use. 

Abela and Economic Services Minister Silvio Schembri said INDIS will sharpen its focus on providing solutions for investors looking to start businesses in Malta, primarily by addressing the supply of space available for industry.  Current available space can only accommodate around four per cent of the new investment projects being considered by Malta Enterprise. 

The agency will avoid take-up of agricultural land and unbuilt spaces and focus on rehabilitating existing premises, Schembri said. 

The first project will be a €101 million extension of the Life Sciences Park, which will include five new blocks to the three existing ones, increasing space by 30,000 square metres. 

An artist's impression of the expansion to the Life Sciences Park in San Ġwann

Foundations have already been laid on the first block, LS4, which will have a direct link to Mater Dei hospital and is projected for completion in the second quarter of 2023.

The final Life Sciences block is expected to be finished by 2027 and will be services-focused with childminding, catering and fitness facilities. 

A civic amenity site in Luqa is set to be cleared up and rehabilitated into premises for small to medium enterprise. Construction waste found at the site will be recycled and turned into a new kind of Maltese brick developed by local researchers. 

The Kordin Business Incubation Centre will also be getting a facelift, with a complete refurbishment and the addition of 10,000 square metres over multiple levels. 

The €15 million project will cater to the needs of start-ups and small businesses. 

The Ħal Far industrial estate will also be seeing a number of upgrades, with 79.6million promised for premises for SME’s and light industry.

Some 59,600 square metres will be reclaimed through the demolition of old factories in the area, which will see the investment of €6.4 million in facilities for medium to large industrial plots. 

An artist's impression of the industrial park planned to replace the Luqa civic amenity site

The premises that currently houses the Ħal Far Flying Model association will be redeveloped into an SME park of 83,800 square metres to the tune of €51.1 million, while €22 million will be spent on a logistics facility to cater for the storage needs of a variety of businesses set to be operating in the area. 

The reconstruction of various roads in Ħal Far is set to cost €10.6 million, while €5 million will be spent upgrading former Taxiway Lima, on which works started in September. Another €5 million will go to new car park facilities which will create 600 new parking spaces. 

A further €30 million will be spent upgrading the road infrastructure in Bulebel, Marsa, Kordin and San Ġwann industrial estates. 

Another €15 million will be dedicated to developing public-private partnerships with entities who already own land in industrial areas and wish to upgrade it for improved use through the government.