Medical cannabis industry to be located in Hal Far

The majority of companies that will produce medical cannabis are likely to be located at the Hal Far industrial estate, Economy Minister Chris Cardona has confirmed.

Malta Industrial Parks was undertaking an exercise to identify those zones and facilities that will be used by these companies, Cardona told Parliament on Tuesday evening.

“The probability is that the majority will be based in Hal Far,” Cardona said in a reply to a series of parliamentary questions by Nationalist MP Claudio Grech.

Cardona did not elaborate but it is understood that MIP is trying to create a cluster for medical marijuana production.

The minister would not say how many companies had received a letter of intent from Malta Enterprise to operate from Malta, citing confidentiality.

However, he did name the seven companies that have so far gone public with the news that they received a letter of intent from the Maltese agency.

These companies are MGC Pharma, Affinity Energy & Health, Wayland, Aurora, Alvit LCS Pharma, Aphria and Columbia Care.

The Maltese parliament passed legislation earlier this year authorising the production of medical cannabis, an industry that is expected to experience significant global growth in the coming years.