It has not been an easy ride. Indeed, our proposed City Centre project at St George’s Bay, St Julian’s, has been scrutinised by a gamut of institutions and the media like no other. I am not complaining. That is the way it should be in a lively, thriving democracy.
The scrutiny served a good purpose. It helped us to identify the legitimate concerns which required not just an answer from us but a concrete response. So we listened and we acted.
Today, our project is not what it was. The developable area has been reduced by 50,000sqm, the hotel will have 24 less rooms, the tower height has been reduced by seven storeys and all the office space has been removed. The height of the project is now comparable to, if not less than, similar ones in the vicinity and in other parts of Malta.
Public areas have been increased by almost 40 per cent. In total, the project will now consist of almost 7,000sqm of public spaces.
That’s almost the size of two football pitches. And we created an underground car park for 1,400 vehicles.
We also listened to genuine heritage and environmental concerns, and we acted on them.
The historic ITS building will not be touched. It will be rehabilitated, refurbished and no excavation will be carried out underneath it.
The db Group has paid €1.5 million for planning gain, potentially benefitting the Pembroke community and those in the vicinity. These funds may be used for various purposes such as new residents-only parking spaces, recreational and social well-being spaces, eco-friendly street furniture, beach decking, CCTV camera systems and ecological restoration of protected sites, including the creation of public trails.
As part of this project we will be selling real estate, but this is not the limit of our vision.
We are not coming to Pembroke to build real estate, sell it and leave. We are coming to stay in the community, to operate the hotel and to run a state-of-the-art shopping mall and plaza.
Once the project is completed, it will create an additional 1,200 new jobs- Arthur Gauci
We are paying the government €60 million for the site, the highest price ever paid per square metre for a comparable project in the last 20 years; even when the increase in prices is factored in. It was with great satisfaction that we welcomed the National Audit Office (NAO) recent report certifying that we paid the right price. So much for all the protests and political spin on this count.
The NAO found no shortcomings on the db Group’s part. The project is in full conformity with all applicable local laws.
Even the European Competition Commissioner, Margrethe Vestager, confirmed that there was no reason to investigate the way the public call for proposals was awarded. Our vision is that of a five-star destination and a showcase to attract upmarket tourism, create jobs and boost the economy.
We always firmly believed in this country. But not just. We put our money where our mouth is.
In 2008, in the depths of the financial crisis, we still went ahead and invested €90 million in the Seabank Hotel & Resort and the San Antonio Hotel & Spa. We are doing it again now during the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic.
Indeed, today we are risking much more. On the strength of the group’s track record, we are investing €250 million in the City Centre project, one of the largest private investments by an individual in Malta’s history.
Such vigorous economic activity benefits everyone. Economists estimate that in the first 10 years, our project will generate around €490 million in revenue to the government which shoots up to €790 million when the multiplier effect is factored in. Once the project is completed, it will also create an additional 1,200 new jobs. These new jobs are in addition to those created during the building phase.
These are the facts, not my opinion.
I am writing this article for those who prefer to have them before deciding what they think, particularly those who still have questions.
Arthur Gauci is CEO of db Group.