Herrera plans on launching 'revamped free zones act'

Herrera plans on launching 'revamped free zones act'

Parliamentary secretary for economic growth José Herrera wants to launch “a revamped free zones act” with an entity taking on on a more regulatory role as government continues to build on the one-stop-shop support and develop further multi-modal transport networks.

“This will open new opportunities for further growth in the sector. Of particular interest to this visit is a project I have launched to review the current bunkering regulations. Bunkering in Malta is another important maritime service where we handle over 1 million metric tonnes per annum of gas and fuel oils,” Herrera said.

The junior minister was speaking following a visit to Oiltaking Malta, Medserv and the Malta Freeport.

Herrera said the government was striving to reduce bureaucracy in this sector and promised his total support to facilitate any other ideas and projects.

At Medserv, a company which offers oil and gas servicing, Herrera was told of the €5 million investment in a new 7500 m2 warehouse which is helping the company improve the services it offers; it has also invested €8 million in a solar farm.

“Despite the current challenging environment in the oil and gas industry, Medserv continues to demonstrate strong growth, with the last 18 to 24 months actually being the strongest in the company’s 42-year history. This is thanks to the hard work of our team, our proactive strategy, and Malta’s favourable standing in the industry,” chairman Anthony Diacono said.

The Malta Freeport today has a terminal with 13,000 container slots and an oil storage system which has 24 operating tanks handling over half a million tonnes of different grades of oil.

Oiltanking Malta increased its workforce by 6% in the last year.