[WATCH] €26 million regeneration project planned for Valletta harbour

€26 million regeneration project planned for Valletta harbour

Deputy prime minister Louis Grech said that a rehabilitation project for the Valletta harbour, costing some €26 million, was among the projects planned for the 2014-2020 EU funds programme.

Speaking at a joint press conference with regional policy commissioner Corina Cretu, Grech outlined earlier discussions about the regional funds Malta was enjoying.

"The absorption rate for the 2007- 2013 period had increased from 30% to 83% since 2013, and that the country is looking forward to further increasing the rate to over 90% by the end of the year."

Cretu said that she believed the remaining funds from the previous programme would be used well and that she shared the confidence that the rate could be increased. 

"Malta is a pioneer in utilizing EU funds and it didnt face many of the problems that other countries had in their implementation," she said, adding that all countries had trouble implementing the funds early on.

"The next programme will focus on better competition, investing in tackling social exclusion and on sustainable development," Cretu added.

Grech further explained that the 2014-2020 programme would cover social inclusion, the environment including energy infrastructure, urban development, among others.

"Early next year we will be announcing a €25 million sustainable development programme in the harbour area," he said, adding that the project will stimulate growth.

He added that the government had already received various applications and that they hoped that most of the programme would be implemented before 2020.

"The aim is to implement the projects in the first two to three years," he said, stressing that the government had learned fron the mistakes of the past.

He added that there would be a review of the cohesion fund system during the year 2017, which coincides with Malta presidency, with the aim of making the system more accessible and less bureaucratic. 

"We believe that cohesion funds can be the key to reinstating trust among citizens in the EU," Grech said, citing the economic and migration crises as factors that had damaged the EU's standing among its citizens.

Speaking about Malta's investment in initiatives within the SME sector, Cretu siad the investment aimed to generate some €60 million for SMEs.

Grech further explained that the EU would be giving some €707 million to Malta through new funds, and that 10 % of these funds had been earmarked for projects in Gozo.