GP Borg Holdings reapplies to develop hotel overlooking Marsamxett Harbour

GP Borg Holdings has once again submitted an application to develop a new hotel overlooking Marsamxett Harbour and the narrow Triq it-Teatru l-Antik.

The development is being proposed over five levels and a basement instead of a dilapidated post-war building and an additional storey over a restored 16th century palazzo known as Preti House. 

GP Borg had won a public tender that earmarked the palazzo for tourism development in 2015. 

A permit for an identical development was issued in April 2025 but was revoked by the Planning Board three months later. The revocation followed the admission by the project architect that the width of Triq it-Teatru l-Antik at its narrowest point was 2.3 meters—not 2.9 meters as marked in the approved plans—claiming the error blamed on a third party had only been discovered after the Board’s decision.  

The Planning Board had refused the architect’s request to modify the permit, arguing that the corrected plans would require a new assessment and therefore proceeded to revoke it. 

The original permit envisaged the construction of a five-storey hotel with 29 rooms to replace a dilapidated building, alongside a one-floor extension to a restored 16th-century palazzo. The new application proposes an identical development, which would still rise 14 meters above Triq it-Teatru l-Antik.

The residents’ group Residenti Beltin objected to the proposal, arguing that the project breaches multiple planning policies protecting urban conservation areas and constitutes a case of over-tourism. They also claim that the surrounding streets, including Triq it-Teatru l-Antik, were never designed to accommodate hotel operations such as loading and unloading, food and beverage servicing, laundry transport, or the high frequency of arrivals and departures associated with a hotel. 

The original project was approved by eight votes to two, despite concerns over whether it complied with sanitary regulations. These regulations stipulate that, in streets three meters wide or less, the overall height of the façade should not exceed twice the width of the street. The law still allows exceptions if the development respects the site context. 

Before the hotel was initially approved, the developer had submitted a declaration stating that the road width exceeded three meters.  

The development was recommended for approval by the case officer and had received clearance from both the Superintendence for Cultural Heritage and the UNESCO World Heritage Site Technical Committee in Malta, both of which had initially expressed concerns regarding the proposed building volumes. The case officer’s report concluded that the new hotel “would inject more economic activity into the capital city” and “secure the building’s upkeep and reuse.” 

During the public hearing in April, architect Tara Cassar questioned whether the proposal complied with sanitary regulations, noting that the over 14-meter-high building would face a lane that, in some areas, is less than three meters wide, a claim which was later vindicated when the permit was revoked.