Lands Authority to discuss transfer of its land in Qajjenza after PA decision

The Lands Authority will wait for the Planning Authority’s verdict on a zoning application in Qajjenza before it considers transfering public land to a private developer.

The authority owns part of the site that once housed Enemalta’s gas cylinder facility in Birżebbuġa, which is now earmarked for real estate development.

“Before commencing discussions with the owners of the site”, a spokesperson told MaltaToday, the authority will await for the PA’s verdict.

But the Lands Authority confirmed that it has issued its consent to the zoning application presented by developer Paul Attard which earmarks the site for the construction of four apartment blocks and two office blocks with a height of between four and eight floors.

The application also seeks to amend the local plan which limits development in the area to between three and four floors and reserves a significant part of the site for the development of a boat yard.

The Lands Authority insists that it only owns “four small plots” of land within the area which account for 14% of the site.

Information filed by the developer shows that Enemalta owns 13,561sq.m, the government 3,408sq.m and an additional 6,273sq.m are held by private owners.

The privately owned part of the site includes land expropriated by the government in 1978 which was the subject of a series of decisions by the European Court of Justice which ordered the return of the land to its owners.

Enemalta which had also confirmed issuing its consent to the application had previously told MaltaToday that Attard’s application “does not impinge” on the company’s ownership of a substnatial part of the site.

Energy Minister Miriam Dalli had also endorsed the decision of the corporation’s board of directors to grant consent to the application insisting this is meant to set planning parameters for development on the site.

She also described the land owned by Enemalta as “an important financial asset” for the corporation which is in its majority owned by the state.

More than 300 objections have been presented to Attard’s zoning application including that of the Birżebbuġa local council, which insists that it should be allocated for priority projects including urban greening projects, small scale sports facilities and an old people’s home.