Updated 3.40pm

Authorities wanted to provide “breathing space” to developers struggling to wrap up construction projects in time, Malta's planning minister has said about a decision to extend thousands of development permits by three years.

Stefan Zrinzo Azzopardi said the decision – introduced by legal notice and with no official announcement – was taken because of “various obstacles” making it hard for developers to complete projects within their five-year development permit deadline.

The minister did not elaborate on those obstacles during an interview on Saturday. However, he later told Times of Malta that supply chain disruptions and limited resources in the past few years had led many construction projects to fall behind schedule. 

The decision had therefore been taken to provide an extension, he said.

All permits that were due to expire between now and December 31, 2024 will benefit from the three-year extension, which only came to light when Times of Malta revealed the legal notice on Wednesday.

Malta’s development lobby, the MDA, responded positively to the measure, saying it offered “much-needed relief to permit holders” and would also reduce the need to import more third-country nationals to work on construction projects.

Civil society groups were not impressed: Moviment Graffitti described it as an “amnesty” for the development lobby and said it was clear the MDA had the minister’s ear. 

Other stakeholders, including the Kamra tal-Periti and Nationalist Party, did not comment on the permit extension decision.

Speaking during an interview with academic Andrew Azzopardi on RTK103, Zrinzo Azzopardi was at pains to insist the extension was “not an amnesty” but provided little other detail about the government’s thinking behind it.

"It was time to provide breathing space for these permits to be executed," Zrinzo Azzopardi said. 

No views on Ġgantija

The minister was reluctant to share his views about a controversial Planning Authority decision to approve an apartment block within the UNESCO-sanctioned Ġgantija Temples.

Zrinzo Azzopardi had also skirted the issue when Times of Malta asked him about the decision earlier this week.

Speaking during Saturday's radio interview, the minister said that the issue “goes beyond” his personal opinion and that the permit appeared to be headed for an appeal.

“The authority reached a decision based on the information it had in front of it,” he said. That appears to be an allusion to the project architect presenting maps indicating that the proposed development is outside a UNESCO buffer zone.

A Times of Malta fact check concluded otherwise, and the entity responsible for proposing buffer zones, ICOMOS, has confirmed that.

Mosta Ficus trees

Zrinzo Azzopardi was more loquacious when asked about the controversy surrounding the transplanting of mature trees away from Mosta's square.

Mosta local councillors had unanimously resolved to move 12 Ficus trees away from the town square and replace them with indigenous species.

The decision, which was sanctioned by the Environment and Resources Authority, sparked outrage and protests and following political pressure, councillors from both parties said they were backtracking on that decision.

“We need to do a better job of explaining what is going to be happening ahead of time,” Zrinzo Azzopardi said of that controversy.  

The planning minister also said the uproar suggested authorities should give greater weight to the fate of mature and established trees in public projects.

“It’s a bit like resolving not to touch a particular building because it is part of our national heritage… [these trees] seemed to be given that sort of value… I think that we should give more weight to that sort valuation in similar decisions,” he said.

Andre Callus: 'It shouldn't get to that'

Earlier in the radio show, activist Andre Callus, who spearheaded opposition to the Mosta transplanting decision, said he harboured ambivalent feelings about the successful struggle.

“On the one hand, I’m glad that politicians sense the public’s pressure and then change their minds. On the other, it shouldn’t get to that stage,” he said. “The issue is not just in Mosta, it’s a sign of how authorities meant to be looking after our interests are doing the opposite.”

ERA no-show

Callus highlighted the key role the environmental regulator, ERA, played in the saga by accepting the application to transplant the 12 trees without question.

A key failing, he said, was that the public is locked out of ERA decision-making processes and cannot object to them.

Radio show Azzopardi said he had invited ERA chairman Vince Cassar, Mosta mayor Chris Grech and deputy mayor Rachel Abela to join him on the show. None of them could make it.  

ERA has yet to respond to Times of Malta questions sent on Wednesday about its permitting process in the Mosta case.