Offices and shops proposed instead of Marsa matchbox factory

Corinthia Palace Hotel Ltd has presented an application to replace the Marsa matchbox factory with a five-storey multipurpose centre, which includes both offices and shops.

The application foresees the demolition of existing industrial buildings, the excavation of the site and the construction of three levels of underground parking.

The multipurpose complex will include a restaurant and shops at the lower levels and offices at the higher levels.

In total the project will generate 3,560sq.m of retail and 15,395sq.m of office space.

The Matchbox factory which dates back to 1950 has been left abandoned for the past years. Some features on the façade including the inscription “Modern Match Factory Marsa” have been lost. The building will be replaced by a modern one.

The application presented by Corinthia comes in the wake of a high-rise application presented on a neighbouring site by Angelo Xuereb.

Xuereb’s plans foresee a 37-storey office tower, with the ground floor occupying 7,500sq.m, acting as a podium, with the first floor being 2,650sq.m, then with each floor reducing in size. Plans foresee the creation of a public square around the tower.

A 16-floor office tower is also being proposed to replace an older industrial building in Church Wharf closer to the Grand Harbour. The application was submitted by James Mallia on behalf of Church Wharf Properties Limited

The Church’s Environment Commission (KA) has recently called for a masterplan for Marsa and the inner area based on a sound public consultation process.

KA said this should be drawn up to enable the area to reach its full potential in an environmentally, socially and economically sustainable manner in the best public interest.

The commission said it believed that development planning in Malta should strive to become an exercise in making the “common good” the primary public policy consideration, rather than placing it on the back-burner to accommodate special interests.