Residents outraged as Freeport gets terminal extension permit

Birżebbuġa residents yesterday stormed out of a planning authority board meeting after the Freeport was granted permission to extend its Terminal 1 by 130,000 square metres.

A year after refusing the full development application because of "an overriding public interest", the board accepted the Freeport's request for reconsideration and yesterday gave it the go-ahead. As they left the room, angry residents shouted insults at board members. "You should be ashamed of yourselves... You are responsible for what will happen now," one of them said.

The permit was recommended for approval by the planning directorate and granted by eight votes in favour and one against. Board member and Labour MP Roderick Galdes voted against.

In his submissions, Freeport human resources director Duncan Borg Myatt reminded the board that the extension project had been approved unanimously in Parliament and had the backing of a legal notice.

Also, the Freeport was implementing a number of measures in the environmental management system, which the planning authority was including as a requirement.

The residents argued that these measures were not enough and that the extension would bring the ships and cranes closer to their houses.

The Birżebbuġa local council and the Labour Party also condemned the issue of the permit.

Labour pointed out that the first decision had been taken before the Euro-parliamentary elections and the second one was taken afterwards. This proved the government instructed the authority on how to take its decisions, the party argued.

In February, the board had overturned the extension by four votes to two on grounds of overriding public interest. However, the Freeport submitted a request for reconsideration and argued that, among other things, the permit's refusal was not backed by specific reasons.

"The refusal of the permit went against the public interest as its approval would continue to ensure Malta's competitiveness, generate new jobs and attract new foreign investment," it said.

During the same meeting last year, the board also gave the go-ahead for dredging works to start in the bay to enlarge the manoeuvring area for ships at the Freeport. The company wants to increase the water depth from 15.5 metres to 17 metres.

This permit had also angered Birżebbuġa residents who had strongly protested against the board's decision.