The Malta Developers’ Association agreed with the the amount paid to permit a change in the use of Fortina Hotel in Sliema, saying that it was “fair and reasonable”.

“In this case, the exercise was not one of selling free and unencumbered land owned by the state but of the state being paid for accepting to waive a limiting condition on the development of the land, which the private owners were bound to observe.

“Comparing the premium paid for this waiver with the absolute value of the land is, therefore, incorrect,” it said.

The association said, however, that the terms of payment were unnecessarily over generous.

In a statement, the association reiterated its general position that public land should not be sold to private entrepreneurs and developers at prices below current market prices.

Changes to the conditions governing the use of the hotel were approved by Parliament on Wednesday, with 34 government votes in favour and 27 opposition votes against. The Opposition slammed the government for seeking a lower payment than it should.

The land had originally been acquired by the Fortel Group from the government on condition that it was used for tourist purposes.

New conditions approved by MPs also allow site owners to develop apartments, business and commercial activities on a part of the site. Times of Malta had revealed that site owners would be paying €8.1 million for that privilege.