[WATCH] Muscat says land reclamation still on the table, but projects must be ‘realistic’

Muscat says land reclamation can be sustainable

The government remains committed to overseeing “realistic and sustainable” land reclamation projects, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said.

As of December 2013, the government had received 21 land reclamation proposals, including floating villages, a race track, sports facilities, marina villages, boutique hotels, green areas and business areas.

“Before any land reclamation projects could start, the SPED had to go through,” Muscat told MaltaToday, referring to the Strategic Plan for the Environment and Development that passed into law in July last year. “We don’t want to rush anything though, and all the proposals must be examined realistically. We must ensure that the proposed projects are realistic and not simply speculative.”

Despite environmental concerns, Muscat insisted that land reclamation projects can be sustainable.

‘High-net-worth foreigners will keep expanding property market’

Following revelations of plans to construct skyscrapers in and around Paceville, finance minister Edward Scicluna warned of a prevalent “supermarket mentality” in the construction industry, with developers competing with large projects irrespective of the demand.

However, Muscat dismissed concerns that the high-rise projects risk overheating the market.

“We must be careful not to overheat the economy, but we aren’t in that situation and I don’t think Scicluna said that we are,” he said. “The [property] market has continued to gain traction thanks to high-net-worth foreigners coming to Malta, and it will continue to grow as such,” he said. “I can assure you that no investor would be willing to throw millions of euro at a project if they felt there was any [significant economic] risk.”