No cost estimate yet for President’s Gozo ‘residence’

The President’s office has formally presented an application to restore an existing farmhouse in San Lawrenz to serve as the “official residence” of the President of the Republic in Gozo.

But it is unlikely that the present President will make much use of the building considering that her term expires in April next year and works are not even expected to start this year.

“This initiative has to date got no further than planning application stage, so the cost and duration of the project cannot yet be accurately quantified; however, it is unlikely to be completed this year,” a spokesperson for the President told MaltaToday.

Days after she was nominated to the Presidency and even before being officially appointed in 2014, the President had already spoken of the need to provide Gozitans with better access to the Head of State.

Subsequently the Office of the President looked into the possibility of identifying an appropriate and “cost-effective base” in Gozo.

The site in Triq it-Torri in San Lawrenz was “recommended” by former Gozo Minister Anton Refalo.

The site which consists of a “dilapidated and abandoned government-owned house” is in “dire need of extensive modification and major refurbishment”, the President’s spokesperson told MaltaToday.

Although this building has been described as a potential residence, its primary function will be to serve as a location for meetings and events connected with the Presidency.

The application, which was presented in December 2017, foresees internal alterations, the demolition of an existing garage and the construction of a larger one and the construction of boundary walls. The 583-sq.m site including the area around the building is fully within the development zone and occupies 583sq.m of land. Back in 2007 the area where the building is located was identified for a housing project which included a large tract of ODZ land. The project was later dropped.