‘Don’t fear high-rise’, says man behind €120 million Metropolis tower

A €120 million Metropolis project in Gzira will be completed in three years’ time, Libyan entrepreneur Jalal Husni Bey said.

The foundation stone of the Metropolis Plaza was laid this evening by Prime Minister Joseph Muscat, Bey and construction magnate Charles Polidano.

Covering 85,000 sqm and towering over a public square, Metropolis Plaza includes a helipad and three towers made of steel reaching 13, 27 and 33 floors respectively. Some 10,000 sqm of space will be available for commercial use. The whole project will also feature restaurants, luxury apartments, a supermarket and a range of shops, health, fitness and leisure facilities together with an underlying car park.

Polidano was entrusted with the initial construction phase; an Italian company will construct the first tower while the tallest tower will be developed by a Dubai-based company which has built the largest towers in Dubai. No names have been divulged so far.

An original project for the Testaferrata site envisaged the development of “a lifestyle building with all apartments having their own view and large terraces”.

The project, which goes back to 2007, however fell through when the original investors failed to obtain enough finances for their project.

Bey, the younger brother of Husni Husni Bey - the chief executive of Libya's prolific HB Group - took over when the project failed to get off the ground.

“We originally came in to buy some apartments but saw an opportunity when the original investors couldn’t get the necessary bank support,” he said.

Bey set to redo the whole project as, in his own words, the original product was not satisfactory: “It was a cheap housing building which would not have delivered. Needless to say, we had to start everything from scratch … including when dealing with the Planning Authority.”

Confident that the revamped project will lead the market, Husni Bey said Metropolis required “a positive and creative vision, at the right time”.

“Today is the right time because commodity prices are at their lowest while confidence in economic growth across Europe is on the rise. This is exactly the right time to build … and the wrong time to sell,” he told MaltaToday.

According to Bey, Malta misses the link which quality investors need to set up base in Malta: luxury spaces from where to operate.

“106 mega yachts enter Malta’s harbours every year and the owners are not even on board. The island is magnificent and yet they are not visiting the island. Something is missing and it is not the weather, or a language barrier or a skilled workforce. What can you give these wealthy investors? Malta has a fantastic tax regime and a lifestyle which is at par with other countries; it is an hour away from Europe. So what’s stopping investors from owning, living and operating from Malta?”

Bey’s Metropolis Plaza has two other sister projects in Libya, currently on hold because of the instability. Thanking the Maltese for the compassion and support shown during the Libyan upheaval, Bey said Malta was like a second home to him: “We are serious partners and believe in the future of Malta and in what it can deliver.”

A high-rise building, the Metropolis Plaza didn’t come without its fair share of criticism by environment lobbies and how it would impact long distance views. Aware of this, Bey appealed for “support” for his project: “High rise projects usually scare a lot of people because they would not be used to it. However, we have to recognise that they are a must and every country should have a designated area for high rise buildings.”

He had words of praise for Joseph Muscat and those “calling the shots who have been very helpful”. Describing dealing with MEPA “very painful”, Bey went on to propose a one-stop shop for such large projects.