[WATCH] Sliema Chalet up for grabs as government seeks investors to rekindle iconic entertainment spot

Will the Sliema Chalet live again? Government is offering a 65-year concession for the abandoned site to be turned into an entertainment spot once again

All that is left of the Sliema Chalet is a concrete platform jutting out to the sea. Government wants to revive the area as an entertainment spot
All that is left of the Sliema Chalet is a concrete platform jutting out to the sea. Government wants to revive the area as an entertainment spot

Government is bidding for a revival of the Chalet in Sliema, 60 years after the iconic entertainment spot closed down indefinitely.

The concrete platform jutting out into the sea along the Sliema promenade at Ghar id-Dud will be offered on a 65-year concession to the private sector.

A request for proposals was released today by Malta Strategic Partnership Projects Ltd, a government entity, seeking interested bidders to reinstate the area into a catering and entertainment spot.

Bidders will have to invest a minimum initial capital of €3.2 million and subsequent partial investments of €1.4 million every seven years during the concession term.

Any measures to mitigate against the rough seas that can hit the area when easterly winds sweep over the islands, will have to be borne by the bidders.

The RFP states that bidders will pay an annual ground rent of €97,000 and a minimum concession fee of €125,000.

MSPP is also inviting interested bidders to submit plans for embellishment of the surrounding areas, including the improvement of accessibility to the foreshore for the public.

The RFP calls for “creative and innovative” solutions.

The concessionaire will be able to use the sea level area - the current concrete platform - and the eventual roof of the site at promenade level. Proposals have to fall within the parameters of the 2002 Chalet Development Brief.

The Chalet was built in 1926 and served as an entertainment venue for almost 40 years. It closed down in 1963 and the dilapidated structure was completed demolished in 2006 since it became a safety hazard.

The Chalet project is one of three other projects announced by the Prime Minister a few days ago, in which government will seek private investment to regenerate and reuse of dilapidated public buildings. The other two are Evans Building and the old pixkerija (fish market) in Valletta.

The public call for the Chalet project will remain open until February 2023.