A mega-development project that was announced by the Prime Minister two years ago in Gzira has yet to see the light of day, as construction works on the Metropolis Plaza have yet to start.

Although in April 2015, a few days before the 2015 local council elections, Dr Muscat officially laid the foundation stone for the new Gzira high-rise, the project was left at completely dormant – to the extent that even the original foundation stone has been removed.

Sources close to the project, which was to include three high-rise buildings of 13, 27 and 33 floors, said it never took off as financing was not secured.

“So far nothing has been done on site except excavation. It seems that ‘Gzira’s big hole’, as nearby residents have nicknamed the area, will remain like that for quite some time,” the sources said. At the inauguration ceremony, attended by various ministers and parliamentary secretaries, Dr Muscat described the Metropolis Plaza as proof that Malta was attracting the right kind of investment.

He said the project, owned by Libyan entrepreneur Jalal Husni Bey, would translate into an injection of €120 million in the economy and the creation of 400 new jobs by 2019, the year that the project was to be completed.

Efforts to contact Metropolis Developments Ltd, which owns the project, had proven futile at the time of writing.

Marketed as one of the best addresses on the Maltese islands, the Plaza was to be built on a 6,000-square-metre plot in Gzira’s Testaferrata Street.

Apart from luxury apartments with harbour views, the company promised to develop commercial, health, fitness and leisure facilities and an underlying car park with 500 spaces.

Real estate companies have told this newspaper that they are not aware of any progress on the Metropolis project.