'University on ODZ only if in national interest’ - Developers' President

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The private 'American University of Malta' should only be built on land that is outside development zones if it is deemed to be in the national interest, Malta Developers' Association President Sandro Chetcuti said.

"However, the university must truly be in the national interest and not an excuse to build more real esate," Chetcuti said. "The south has had more than its fair share of pollutant projects and has been in dire need of investment since the Jerma Hotel closed down. However, maximum effort must be taken to find an alternative site for it that isn't virgin land."

Chetcuti was speaking during the Malta Developers' Associations' first ever formal meeting with green party Alternattiva Demokratika. He reiterated that the university could be sited on a stretch of “shabby” land between Smart City and Xghajra, but said that he would have to see the investors’ pre-requisites before proposing an alternative site.

“We haven’t had the chance to meet them [Sadeen] yet,” Chetcuti said. “However, if the project is truly in the national interest, then siting it on developed land could be a recipe for failure.” 

He argued that the University of Malta, Mater Dei Hospital and several schools were sited on originally ODZ land and that farms and sports complexes cannot be built in built-up areas. 

“ODZ lines were drawn up by a team of people at the end of the day, and they weren’t always drawn up properly. There were never-ending anomalies in local plans, and some people suffered great injustices.”

However, AD deputy chairperson Carmel Cacopardo dismissed the possibility that the AUM is in the national interest, as it is “about business, not education”.  

However, Chetcuti pointed out that the government had in the past even green-lighted the construction of the Radisson, Corinthia San Gorg and Corinthia Marina hotels in ODZ land on the logic that attracting more tourists was in the national interest.

“The government did its calculations and was proved right on an economic basis,” he said. 

On his part, AD chairman Arnold Cassola said that the university should be sited across historic forts in the Kalkara-Zonqor region.  

‘Worrying that government proposing ODZ construction’

In his opening speech, Cassola expressed his concern that the government is presenting proposals for construction on ODZ land and sea- referring to the proposed siting of the AUM at Zonqor Point and of a cruise liner terminal in Qala.

“The government should protect the environment,” Cassola said. “Malta is a small island and the number of open spaces is constantly on the decline. 30% of property in Malta is vacant, and rehabilitating those is surely a better option than eating up ODZ land.”

The two sides had words of praise for each other, with Cacopardo congratulating the MDA for having reduced the number of “cowboys” in the construction industry and Chetcuti praising AD for having placed the environmental on the national agenda.

“Construction is the motor behind all other sectors in Malta,” the MDA President said. “Unfortunately, bad planning in the past has harmed both developers and environmentalists, and we need to find a balance between our natural environment and the environment we live and work in.”

He warned that this balance will not be easy to find, as a result of people seeking both tranquillity and luxury.