ADPD chairperson hits out at Labour over Comino development

With proposed developments on Comino in the works, ADPD Chairperson Carmel Cacopardo criticised successive governments for promoting land speculation and favoring speculators.

In a statement, Cacopardo said that history repeats itself because Nationalist and Labour governments have the same policy on land use, on the environment, and in favour of land speculation.

“Comino does not need more buildings, it actually needs less, otherwise the special protection that Comino is supposed to enjoy means nothing."

He pointed out previous large-scale developments, from the Hilton development to the dB Group’s Pembroke project and public land concession to the Corinthia Group in the same locality.

“Governments have changed the original conditions of the title of public land, so that from concessions for purely touristic use, land speculation is allowed.”

Cacopardo was highly critical of a proposed development on Comino from Hili Group, which he said would lead to an intensification of the use of land taken up by the hotel.

"Instead of the nine existing bungalows nineteen will be built (700 square meters each) to be sold to private owners. The hotel will have 140 beds. All this on an island that is practically uninhabited, and which is the only island that is a reserve in its entirety.”

“Government should seek to reduce the amount and footprint of buildings. The villa bungalows must be eliminated completely, and the footprint of the hotel should also be reduced!"

He concluded: "There is no need for intensive development on Comino to rehabilitate and restore natural areas and disturbed land in the beaches of San Niklaw and Santa Marija. The days where public land is given for touristic development are long gone. There is no logical reason why this same land continues to be given over for land speculation.

“The case of Comino continues to confirm that the PLPN system is a system in favour of the interests of the few."

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