Metropolis project to get new lease of life

The man behind the planned €60 million Metropolis project in Gzira has asked MaltaToday to be "sensitive" to his investment opportunity, as Jalal Husni Bey plans to carry forward his project after years of inertia.

Jalal Husni Bey, the younger brother of Husni Husni Bey - the chief executive of Libya's prolific HB Group - took over the Metropolis project, a high-rise of over 33 floors and 4,000 square metres, from Chris Pace of Global Capital.

Planning delays inside the Malta Environment and Planning Authority left the project seemingly unattended to for years, before Jalal Husni Bey repurchased most of the apartments sold on plan and the shareholding of Chris Pace - and even his yacht, reportedly.

The project is now held in ownership by Bey's Dutch company Raykan B.V. Global Capital, which sold its 41% stake in Metropolis in 2010 for €3.8 million.

If MEPA proceeds with the planning application, construction on the site is expected to start at the end of summer this year.

MEPA sources have told this newspaper that the permit for the project is now being viewed with the "utmost urgency."

Metropolis officials who spoke to MaltaToday back in April also said they were in the process of renewing the full development permit for the project with MEPA. "Subject to attaining the renewal of the full development permit, we will be in a much better position to comment on and clarify the current situation and outline future plans," one company official told MaltaToday.

Since bank financing collapsed during the credit crunch of 2008, the gaping hole that was supposed to be the Metropolis megaproject in Gzira seemed to have become just a reminder of the dampened performance of the construction sector.

In 2011, Aidan Barker, a director of the Metropolis project, told MaltaToday that Bey's involvement in the project led to debt financing, which now should lead the way to a schedule of works lasting 32 months. The project's outline permit is valid until 2014, though events in Libya have hampered the project in terms of the perceived risk of the Husni Bey Group.

Original plans for the central Gzira development include three high-rise buildings of 13, 27 and 33 floors, meaning one would be the tallest building in the country. The project includes luxury residential, commercial, health and fitness and leisure facilities, and 500 underlying car spaces. Developers intend Metropolis to be the catalyst for the area's regeneration.

Bey's family business - the HB Group - predates Gaddafi's 1969 revolution, but his father's shipping and oil-services businesses were forcibly nationalised after being run down by government-instigated strikes.

His brother Husni Husni Bey has been imprisoned several times by the Libyan government. According to cables from US Ambassador Gene Cretz released by Wilkileaks, the Gaddafi regime wanted to build a case against Bey and "dismantle his business empire piecemeal" by diminishing his influence.