Government should buy back Comino concession, Momentum says

Momentum called on the government to buy back the emphyteutical deed covering the Comino Hotel and bungalow area and permanently safeguard the island from large-scale development.

The call follows ERA’s approval of preliminary environmental works for the proposed Six Senses Comino development, including the uprooting of around 800 trees.

The redevelopment of the former Comino Hotel site includes a hotel, 16 villas, and 44 swimming pools.

Momentum said the concession through which the land was originally granted dates back to 1960, when Malta was still under British colonial rule. The deed was granted for 150 years and is due to expire in 2110.

With around 84 years still remaining, Momentum pointed out that nobody alive today is likely to see the end of the colonial-era agreement.

It also noted that the annual ground rent attached to the concession stands at just €11,768, roughly equivalent to the cost of renting two or three bungalows for a week.

Momentum therefore said the government’s starting point for assessing the cost of buying back the deed should be the value of the remaining ground-rent payments over the approximately 84 years left on the concession, which amounts to less than €1 million.

However, the party specified that the final amount should be established through a fair and independent valuation and negotiations with the concession holder.

Momentum proposed that the government open negotiations with the concession holder for the return of the concession to the state, also calling for an independent valuation of the remaining concession to establish the cost of securing the voluntary surrender or buy-back of the deed.

The party stressed that the concession should not be valued on the basis of its speculative value for future large-scale development.

Additionally, it insisted that any agreement should be accompanied by a commitment to protect Comino from large-scale commercial development once the concession is returned, as well as a plan for the island’s ecological restoration and long-term management.

Momentum said a development of this scale would inevitably raise concerns over light pollution, additional boat and marine traffic, and the movement of beach buggies and other vehicles around the island.

It also warned that increased tourism and visitor numbers would place further pressure on waste generation and disposal. Questions would also arise over Comino’s wastewater and drainage capacity, including whether wastewater would be discharged into the sea.

The creation of a permanent, year-round population and the activity associated with it would further strain an island whose carrying capacity is already under significant pressure, particularly at the Blue Lagoon and other sensitive areas.

The project would also increase electricity and infrastructure requirements, with Momentum noting Comino’s extremely limited freshwater resources.

“The issue is therefore much bigger than whether a new hotel looks attractive or not,” the party said. “The question is whether Comino can physically and environmentally sustain another major tourism development.”

Momentum said the government has been handed a unique opportunity to safeguard Comino, pointing out that MPs on both sides of parliament have expressed a desire to see the island protected.

Rather than debating how much development Comino can accommodate, the party said the government should use this broad political support to permanently protect the island, particularly since the proposed redevelopment has not yet taken place.

“This could become another national project in which the government, the opposition, environmental organisations, local communities, and the public work together to ensure that Comino remains one of Malta’s most important natural assets,” Momentum General Secretary Mark Camilleri Gambin said.

The party concluded that, rather than leaving future generations to deal with the consequences of another major tourism development, Malta has an opportunity today to make a different choice.