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James Debono
The Hondoq ir-Rummien mega-project, which includes a hotel and 285 residential units as well as a yacht marina, is back on the agenda after four long years of hibernation. Developers described the waiting period as “four years of pro-active consultation” with the Malta Environment and Planning Authority.
Back in November 2002, following a campaign spearheaded by parish priest Dun Karm Refalo, 85 per cent of Qala residents had voted to keep Hondoq ir-Rummien Bay in Gozo free of development, in a referendum organised by the local council.
But Gozo Prestige Holidays, a company owned by major Gozitan developers Victor Bajada and Joseph Cassar, have persisted in their efforts to transform a disused quarry next to Hondoq ir-Rummien into a 5-star hotel, yacht marina and tourist complex by presenting new plans in a project development statement (PDS) which will be followed by an environment impact assessment.
The developers make bold claims to make their development an environmentally friendly one. Through landscaping they promise to create the perception that the project is the “work of nature itself”.
Although they plan to complete the project by 2010 they want to give an impression that the new village has “evolved organically over the last century”. No wonder that the project also includes a small church.
They also claim that they the new village will be visually more pleasing than the scar in the landscape caused by their abandoned quarry.
Yet despite these assertions, the excavation of the existing quarry to make way for the development are set to increase pressures on the infrastructure to the extent that the project could require the development of new roads.
Although developers claim that according to their plans only 26.9 per cent of the quarry will be built up, while the rest would be landscaped or submerged by water, the scale of the proposed development is massive.
Set to cost EUR75 million to develop, the project consists of a five-star hotel consisting of 170 beds, 25 self-catering villas, 60 self-catering units, 200 multi-ownership residences and 731 underground parking spaces.
The Gozitan developers justify the scale of development by arguing that a standalone yacht marina does not make any sense – an argument used previously by golf course developers to justify residential development next to the golf greens.
“Boat traffic alone is not normally enough to make a marina development viable,” the developers’ statement says. The new marina is set to host 150 boats.
But the developers will have to extract 900,000 cubic metres of rock from the old quarry, which will be stockpiled for re-use in nearby quarries.
Back in 2002, a breakwater occupying an area of 4,000 square meters had been proposed. The new project is devoid of this unsightly development as a state of the art rubber dam which will not impinge on the seabed is now being proposed.
Still the marina would require the reclamation of 1,565 square metres of seabed. Both the marina and the residential development will only be made possible through the excavation of the abandoned quarry.
Developers plan to excavate the quarry in fifteen to eighteen months. One truck will be leaving every 10 minutes between 7.00 am to 7.00pm six days a week for this time span –with 60 trucks leaving everyday.
Excavation will also “cover large areas in white dust”, but the developers consider this as a necessary evil. A route linking the Qala creek site to the areas where the excavated rock will be stockpiled has still to be identified.
Even after completion, traffic towards the new village is set to become a major problem. The peak traffic flow generated by the new project is set to be 1,052 incoming trips during weekdays and 1,056 outbound trips during the weekend. The developers acknowledge that since traffic reaching Hondoq would have to pass through the Qala village core, the effects on pedestrians using Qala must be monitored. Developers claim that the forthcoming EIA will have to assess whether the development of new roads would be necessary.
Yet in return the developers are promising to create 200 jobs during the construction phase and 400 new jobs when it starts operating.
They even promise residents a number of benefits which include an organised sunbathing zone, a fishing zone, public facilities, a public promenade along the marina and a heritage trail on a garigue area next to the project.
Reactions
It is apparent that the new proposals have not created the same storm as in 2002 as reactions to the new development presented during the mid-summer lull have so far been mooted.
Qala Mayor Paul Buttigieg said that it is “too early to comment on the project”, claiming the council is still examining the developer’s statement. “It seems that the scale of the project has been reduced but before sending our submissions to MEPA we want to examine all the issues,” Buttigieg told MaltaToday.
The Gozitan committee of Alternattiva Demokratika is still examining the report. “We are not saying an outright no: we are seeking expert advice as well as the opinion of people from Qala before sending our submissions to MEPA,” Victor Galea said.
The new parish priest of Qala Father John Zammit would not commit himself on the specific issue but referred MaltaToday to an article which he had written on the church bulletin. Without referring to the project, the parish calls on parishioners to stand to be counted when the environment is at stake. “Protecting our environment is not only the duty of those who live in it, but also a right of the environment itself.”
Residents have little time to decide on the merits of new project. MEPA is calling for submissions for the terms of reference on the project’s forthcoming EIA before 14 August.
jdebono@mediatoday.com.mt
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