[WATCH] Developers want to rebuild ‘ugly’ ODZ buildings

MDA meets Parliamentary Secretary Deborah Schembri

After a bright start under a new Labour administration, the construction industry is going through a sluggish period, the Malta Developers Association president Sandro Chetcuti said.

Speaking during a meeting with parliamentary secretary for planning Deborah Schembri, the MDA chief warned against complacency.

“This administration started with a spark and its initial period was marked by enthusiasm which reaped a lot of wealth. But after some time, this enthusiasm waned and this is not a good thing. Excessive bureaucracy is taking over again and the Prime Minister’s ‘can be’ message is not reaching the civil service, where the ‘cannot be’ attitude is remerging,” Chetcuti said. 

He added that permits were taking too long to be issued and said that this was stalling investment.

Chetcuti said “disturbed” buildings situated outside the development zone should be redeveloped.

Claiming that some existent ODZ buildings are an “eyesore” and ruin the environment, Chetcuti said “we have very good ideas to convert ugly legal buildings in ODZ into projects which benefit the country,”