Selmun Palace Hotel remains in government hands, almost four years after parliament was told that plans were being drafted to sell it.

On Monday Finance Minister Clyde Caruana told PN MP Graziella Galea that the hotel was still owned by the government, which was planning to develop the property into a commercial venture.

Heritage Minister Jose Herrera meanwhile noted that emergency works have been carried out on the Selmun Palace, which is located on the grounds of the hotel.

A survey of the building, known also as Selmun Tower, has been carried out in line with the planning authority procedure to kick off the restoration process, he said.

Restoration will kick off by the end of the year.

The palace is a landmark of the village of Selmun and the largest of all such towers built by the Knights of the Order of St John. It was scheduled as a Grade 1 national monument in 2012.

The hotel, which was run by a subsidiary of Air Malta, was shut down in 2011 when the airline restructured its operations to focus solely on its aviation business. 

The airline hoped to sell the property for at least €8.4 million. But its efforts were unsuccessful and the property was instead sold to the government. 

It has remained vacant and derelict ever since, despite a 2015 consultation plan issued by PA predecessor Mepa and a declaration in 2018 by then-minister Edward Scicluna that work was underway to sell the hotel and palace.

Selmun Tower

Selmun Tower was built by the Knights of St John in 1783. Designed by Duminku Cachia in 1619 the castle is often described as the baroque version of Verdala Palace at Buskett Gardens.

It was an important property of the Monte Di Redenzione, a religious foundation set up in 1607 for the ransom of Christian slaves from the Barbary States. It houses some of the former hotel's suites and used to host weddings and other functions.