The tourism component of Pembroke is being reduced and the area will be rezoned and designated for real estate purposes, changing planning laws to enable private businesses, an NGO protested on Saturday.
Flimkien ghal Ambjent Aħjar said it is extremely concerned about the fact that a concession that had been granted in favour of tourism is now being turned into speculation for the few on land that belongs to the public.
Read: 'Grossly undervalued' Pembroke site could trigger industry collapse
The NGO was reacting to a Times of Malta story which reported that land in St Julian’s transferred to the Corinthia Group to develop a residential and office complex was “grossly undervalued” and could trigger a building industry collapse.
Similarly to the Fortina Hotel that had enjoyed concessions as a tourism venture which are now being used for real estate, the St George’s Bay site had been conceded to the Corinthia Group specifically for tourism purposes - supposedly to improve the tourism product, create long-term employment, and benefit the public good.
No details have been given about who will foot the costs for the new roads, street lighting, drainage and utility supplies
"Now the tourism component is being reduced and the area will be rezoned and designated for real estate purposes, changing planning laws to enable private businesses. This is preferential treatment granted to speculators. On what basis can planning laws be changed to accommodate certain interests only? Where does the selling of public land stop?," FAA said.
The concession to the db Group in connection with the adjacent ITS site was already a very bad decision, however basing the Corinthia deal on the same model entrenches the sale of public land at a price far below its real estate value, giving others the expectation of similar treatment, it added.
This creates dangerous imbalances in the market without providing any tangible value for the public for government.
FAA stressed that another cause of concern is the increase in traffic highlighted as a major issue in assessing the db project, which did not even factor in the emissions to be generated by this other major project. Like the db case, no details have been given about who will foot the costs for the new roads, street lighting, drainage and utility supplies, which may well be paid by the public, absorbing much of the €52 million to be earned from the lease of the site.