University students reiterate opposition to ODZ construction

The University Students’ Council (KSU) has expressed its disappointment at news that a proposed campus for a private university, the ‘American University of Malta’, is to be partly constructed at Zonqor Point, in Marsaskala.
The Prime Minister has confirmed that the campus, originally earmarked outside development zones on what was scheduled to become a natural park in 2006, will now be partly hosted in the Cottonera area and also at Zonqor.

KSU and other university organisations which joined in an unanimous position against development at Zonqor reiterated that no ODZ land should form part of the proposed construction.

“KSU welcomes the improved environmental consciousness of our society in recent times and the consequent outcry from citizens calling for more preservation of our limited environment. KSU holds that the inability of the government to back down only shows that it is vested in perpetuating the minimisation of untouched landscapes.

“This failure to recognise the beauty and importance of the Maltese environment; one which our children should be able to enjoy in the coming generations, in favour of a finite investment sum, can only be described as a short-sighted vision,” the council said.

It called on government to rethink its decision and ensure that the environment is prioritized.

“KSU is aligned to Front Ħarsien ODZ, and will continue to support this united assembly made up of different organisations and individuals who share one common goal: to safeguard our environment at all costs,” the council said.