Alex Borg opens door to high-rises in Gozo, minister shoots down idea

Nationalist Party Leader Alex Borg has said that towers could be built in Gozo if he becomes Prime Minister.

"You can't generalise. You can't say Gozo in general. You have areas where there could be, based on the skyline policy," Borg said during an interview with the website WhosWho.mt on Saturday.

At present, Gozo has no towers except for one project approved under a Nationalist Government before 2013. The Labour Government revised the skyline policy in 2014, ruling out towers in Gozo entirely. In Malta, tall buildings are restricted to six specific areas, including Tigné, Paceville and Gzira.

The PN leader argued that his proposed skyline policy would identify zones in Gozo where high-rises may be allowed, rather than keeping the current blanket ban. 

The Labour administration has since gone further, approving the Gozo Regional Development Strategy, a ten-year framework that presents the island as an "archipelago of villages" with a distinct identity and character. 

The strategy explicitly rules out high-rise development as part of Gozo's future vision.

Minister Clint Camilleri accused Borg of wanting to reverse these protections. Writing on Facebook, he said Borg wants to undo the island's village identity.

"After only two weeks in office, the PN Leader is saying that under him, towers will start being built in Gozo. Honestly, I could not believe it when I was told about this statement," Camilleri said.

He stressed that under the current government, towers are prohibited in Gozo without exception. "Gozitans know that today, under this Government, it is completely forbidden to have a permit for a tower in Gozo. Yes, in all of Gozo, without exception," he wrote.

Camilleri added that Labour would continue to resist pressure for high-rise projects. "We believe in the facts of Gozo as an island of villages, and we will continue to work to protect its unique characteristics."

Momentum Party Leader Arnold Cassola also reacted to the statement, questioning where exactly towers would be built. "Alex Borg is open to having high-rises in certain parts of Gozo. First, he defended building 5 storeys within the walls of Chambray, now he is open to high-rises in Gozo," Cassola wrote on Facebook.

He described the move as "another party for developers in Gozo" and stressed that "the need for a third voice in parliament becomes even more urgent."