Plans for the new Comino hotel and bungalows will be displayed in a public exhibition in Valletta, the project’s developer Hili Ventures has announced.
The project’s lead architect, Antonio Belvedere will be giving a presentation about the “conscientious vision” of the project.
The project has generated controversy among environmentalists and activists, with NGOs leading the charge and encouraging the public to object to the development, describing it as “monstrous” and “occupation by stealth” of the ecologically sensitive islet.
Some 8,000 representations subsequently flooded the application in a deluge of objections.
In response to the backlash, Hili claimed that the new Comino project will take up less land than the previous hotel did, however a Times of Malta fact check determined that this is misleading.
The fact-check found that although the overall footprint of the project would be reduced, this isolated fact does not adequately describe the scale of the project, with the development’s floor space set to increase by a third when compared to its current size.
“The new hotel and bungalows have been designed for visitors to experience Comino in total harmony with the island,” Belvedere said in a statement on Friday.
“Before embarking on the design, we built our consciousness. Sustainability is a true moral obligation that drives the project’s journey – from careful demolition to low-impact construction to the choice of the material palette. The project is about regeneration. This exhibition aims to give greater insight into our vision for this unique project.”
The exhibition will outline all of these aspects of the proposed development, as well as the project’s Natura 2000 obligations, which have been taken “very seriously” and will include the removal of invasive and alien species in favour of endemic and native plants, the developers said.
The project will take two and a half years to complete once planning permission is obtained, they added.
The exhibition will run from April 22 till May 9 at Girolamo Cassar Hall at the Mediterranian Conference Centre in Valletta and will be open daily from 10 am to 6 pm.
Belvedere’s presentation will be given on April 22 at 10.30 am. Members of the public who wish to attend are advised to register here.