Virgin land half the size of Valletta could be lost to development

Virgin land covering an area equivalent to half of Valletta, or 33 football grounds, added to development zones in 2006 could be ruined, a MaltaToday exercise reveals. 

The Planning Authority has 16 pending zoning applications for parcels of land released for development 17 years ago across several localities. 

The green land awaiting the authority’s verdict is equivalent to 264,000sq.m or an area covering the width of the Valletta peninsula from parliament all the way down to Archbishop Street. 

For this exercise, MaltaToday used information available to the public on the PA website. The pending applications only cover a part of the land area added to the development zones in 2006. 

A group of residents from Żurrieq protested against the rezoning of an area in Nigret, which was eventually approved by the PA

These lands require developers to first seek the PA’s guidance on how the area should be zoned. A zoning application for a large tract of land at Nigret in Żurrieq - which is not included in this exercise – was approved by the PA recently paving the way for developers to apply for the construction of residential units. 

The pending applications include two large tracts of land in the Swatar area of Msida and a large area at Tad-Dib in Mosta. 

When faced with criticism over this development spree, government ministers read from the same hymn book and blame the 2006 rationalisation exercise. 

They claim government risks costly litigation if it reverses development boundaries. 

Planning Minister Stefan Zrinzo Azzopardi and Environment Minister Miriam Dalli repeated the same argument when the PA was deciding on a zoning application in their Zurrieq constituency recently. 

They pointed a finger at the Nationalist administration of 2006, leaving constituents opposed to the loss of agricultural land without an answer.

Get the full information on MaltaToday's print edition.