Palumbo commits to back educational incentives after meeting Three Cities mayors

Palumbo Shipyards has committed itself to back future educational initiatives in Cospicua, Senglea and Vittoriosa following a meeting it had with the three mayors.

In a statement, the group – which runs the Cospicua shipyard – said that the social, educational and industrial aspects of the Three Cities were among the topics discussed between the mayors and company CEO Antonio Palumbo during a tour of the shipyard.

“The company’s goal is not solely financial gain. We are committed to invest in the surrounding cities as we believe we have a social responsibility to support schools, parishes and sports clubs, among others,” Palumbo said in a statement released jointly with the three councils.

The mayors — John Boxall (Vittoriosa),  Alison Civelli Zerafa (Cospicua) and Giuseppe Casha (Senglea) — were guided through the shipyard and shown the investment the company had made, particularly in ensuring the health and safety of its employees.

Mayors and members from the Senglea, Cospicua and Vittoriosa local councils in a meeting with Palumbo Shipyards management

Residents have in the past complained about dirt and noise, particularly at night, arguing that their health was suffering and the noise at night was unbearable. Early this year, a group of Senglea residents had filed a criminal complaint, alleging that Palumbo shipyards was carrying out noisy repair work all through the night. This, in turn, had prompted a protest by the shipyard workers, arguing that the court case was endangering their employment.  

Saturday’s press release noted how Palumbo had taken over the shipyards in 2010, “at a time when Maltese taxpayers were still spending €1 million a week on interest payments as a result of the Malta Drydocks' losses”.

Palumbo was given a 30-year lease to invest €31 million in the ship repair facilities and within six years, the Italian company was generating some €2 million in annual profits and injected some €300 million in turnover directly into the Maltese economy since 2010.

The mayors said they appreciated the investment Palumbo had pumped into the shipyard, but they pointed out that they were elected by the people to represent their needs and there would be matters where the councils and the shipyard would not see eye to eye on.

Civelli Zerafa stressed that the shipyard’s management had always been accessible to discuss whenever issues cropped up and it had proven to be flexible in finding an amicable solution.

The mayors and Palumbo agreed to continue fostering this spirit of communication for the benefit of residents and to ensure the yard could continue running its operations smoothly.