A suggestion that Fort San Salvatore could be an alternative to Żonqor Point for a new university in the south overlooks the fact it has been privately owned since 1982 thanks to a deed by former Labour prime minister Dom Mintoff.
The deed, tabled in Parliament yesterday, dates back to 1958 when one of the last things Mr Mintoff did before the Labour government resigned was to hand over the historical fort to his brother, Ray.
The contract turns over the property to the owners of Prestressed Concrete Limited for use as a batching plant. The ground rent was £100, payable to the Treasury in advance every six months.
One month later, the government resigned after passing the ‘Break with Britain resolution’ when the colonial government would not commit to guaranteeing workers’ jobs with the British services.
Riots followed, mostly in the Three Cities, where even police stations were burnt down.
In 1982, again during the time Mr Mintoff was prime minister, the emphyteusis for Fort San Salvatore was redeemed and, thus, became private property. The fort – a national cultural heritage site - was acquired for just €4,650.
Prime Minister Joseph Muscat made no mention of this fact when saying in Parliament he was considering a “serious proposal” for alternative sites for the new American University the government wants to build on land outside development zone.
Fort San Salvatore was one of four sites proposed by the National Independent Forum for Sustainability (NIFS). One of its recommendations was for a campus spread over three fortifications around Kalkara: Ricasoli, Saint Rocco and San Salvatore. The fort is part of San Salvatore Bastion, in Vittoriosa and covers an area of about 12,000 square metres. It includes the premises formerly known as the San Salvatore Reformatory. One of the conditions in the contract was that it could only be used for industrial purposes.
Fort San Salvatore was built in 1724 on one of the bastions of the Cottonera Lines. It was used as a prisoner-of-war camp during World War I and as an internment camp and kerosene depot in World War II.
It is the place where 43 Maltese were kept by the British government before they were deported to Uganda, seen to this day as a gross injustice committed because the Maltese were interned without due process.
In later years, it became the site where Mr Mintoff’s brother ended up building a thriving business. Apart from the fact that he was handed a historic fort to use as his company’s premises, he benefitted from the socialist prime minister’s vast nationalisation programme.
This is documented in the autobiography of entrepreneur Anġlu Xuereb who decided to compete with the batching plant in the 1970s.
He described the ownership of the existing batching plant by Mr Mintoff’s brother as the biggest challenge he faced.
“To appreciate the enormity of the problem, one has to understand the political climate of the time… the thought of importing large, heavy machinery to compete with the Prime Minister’s own brother was next to an impossible dream.
“Even if I were to be granted an import licence, as soon as I applied for a permit to build a factory for the purpose I had in mind it would have been offhandedly refused,” Mr Xuereb wrote.