Standing up to the ODZ threat

Sandro Chetcuti, president of the Malta Development Association, describes as “shabby and unused” the land earmarked for the development of three ODZ hotels in a brief prepared by the government’s Privatisation Unit.

Chetcuti is supporting the conclusions of the brief paper which is proposing three hotels on virgin land stretching from Smart City to Zonqor Point in the south of Malta. The development will also feature a promenade and a beach club, all built on public land lying outside development zones.

Chetcuti’s logic amounts to crass ignorance. In a small country such as Malta the entirety of its coast is a valuable environmental asset, which should be protected. As for the land in question being “shabby” Chetcuti should ask himself who is responsible for that – who left it in that state?

Chetcuti misses the point that it is the fact that the land in question is “unused” that makes it valuable. Moreover any development in pristine areas will result in the intrusion of traffic, roads and create a need for new services in formerly pristine areas, which are presently free from any development.

It could start a slow process of degenerative development, which has already been experienced in St Paul’s Bay and St Julian’s. It would also result in the privatisation of a coastline, which presently belongs to all of us.

Chetcuti is not a common mortal. Apart from representing developers he also forms part of various government appointed committees. He has also actively backed the Labour party. His statements show that despite growing in stature his vision belongs to a bygone age when the coast was considered to be an asset to be grabbed. Malta has lost enough of its northern coastline under successive Labour and PN governments to development. Repeating the same mistake in the south would be criminal.

The Government is also playing a dangerous game by giving the impression that the report prepared by the privatisation unit is “simply an analysis of the situation in the Southern part of the island, “which has been neglected for a long time.”

The fact that according to a government spokesperson the issue “has not been discussed, let alone decided upon, at government level” raises even more questions.

How can the Privatisation Unit, which falls under the remit of Economy Minister Chris Cardona, make plans for hotels on public land in the absence of any commitment by the government, which owns the land in question.

Was the Prime Minister, who is ultimately responsible for public land, aware of this study?

Preparing a brief for development of public land without the prior approval of the government defies any logic. In a normal country no government authority would contemplate studies proposing hotels on land where such development is not allowed by structure plan policies, which forbid any further coastal development. Moreover it is MEPA, which normally drafts planning policies, not the privatisation unit or the committee for the south.

Probably once again the government is simply testing the waters.

The fact that a government entity is entertaining ideas about hotels on ODZ also raises questions on land reclamation plans. 11 months have now passed since the government received 21 proposals for land reclamation following an expression of interest issued more than a year ago. 

Why should the government consider development on the coast when it is also considering land reclamation beyond the coast, possibly in the same area. Or is the development of inland hotels being presented as a worst case scenario to make land reclamation in the area look more palatable for public opinion?

In all this, great responsibility falls squarely on Environment Minister Leo Brincat. In the absence of a strong public statement by Brincat against any development in ODZ coastal areas, the minister will be once again absconding of his responsibilities as guardian of the Maltese environment. Brincat is presently being humiliated by decisions taken by other ministers. It is time for him to stand up to be counted.