Bilom group applies for ODZ petrol station

A 3,000 square metre petrol station set on the coast road next to a newly constructed roundabout at Bahar ic-Caghaq opposite the Qalet Marku coastline is being proposed by Bilom group, one of Malta’s fastest growing construction groups.

Bilom Estates Limited director and shareholder Nathan Bartolo filed the application. 

Bilom Group’s general manager, Michael Bugeja, is listed as the “client” in plans presented by the architect of the project.

The applicant claims that he holds a “title of lease” over part of the land. Established in 1985 as a neighbourhood construction company, Bilom Group emerged over the last years of existence as one of the leaders in the real estate market.

The ODZ land where the huge petrol station is being proposed is described in the planning application as “disused land”. Plans submitted to MEPA foresee the development of a car wash, a retail shop, an office and a store. The application is still being screened by MEPA, which has yet to inform the developer whether the proposed development conforms to existing policies.

The application comes in the wake of a new policy regulating the development of ODZ petrol stations. The policy, enacted to improve safety standards, allows owners of petrol stations in urban areas to relocate to ODZ areas. But in so doing it allows them to enlarge fuel stations to a maximum of 3,000 square metres. 

Brand new petrol stations can also be constructed in ODZ sites which are immediately next or opposite industrial or storage areas.  

Last year MaltaToday reported that a number of petrol station licences were being sold thanks to a rise in their value amid speculation that the new policy would allow larger petrol pump stations in ODZ sites. In submissions presented to MEPA last year the Malta Developers Association had also warned that the new policy risks raising the “artificial value” of existing fuel station licences. 

MEPA is already assessing four applications for the development of ODZ petrol stations in the Maghtab, Bahar ic-Caghaq, Burmarrad and Salini area.  

Easysell Kia Malta Ltd, a company owned by the Tumas Group, is proposing a  petrol station in Burmarrad. The petrol station is being proposed on a vacant site designated as an ‘area of containment’ but which was formerly a rural area ruined by past irregularities.

Another proposal in Burmarrad is being made by Construction and Turnkey House Ltd. The development is being proposed next to an area of containment on land designated for its agricultural value. The Environment Protection Directorate has already objected to this proposal. 

Another application was presented by Luqa Construction Ltd to relocate an existing petrol station from Valley Road, Msida, to Triq is-Salini. 

A fuel station is also being proposed on a triangular plot of land wedged between Triq is-Salini to the west and Trejqet l-Arznu to the east. The surrounding area includes crop and livestock farms and small-scale industrial developments.