Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1139344
3 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 7 JULY 2019 CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 But in a motion which econ- omy minister Chris Cardona took to the House without be- ing first presented in Cabinet, both sides of the House ap- proved the extension of the casino concession for the re- maining 64 years of the lease that Casma Ltd has on the land. Casma awarded DGL the 10-year lease after competitive tender. DGL was obliged to in- vest €17 million in the proper- ty, something the parliamenta- ry motion says was more than fulfilled. The motion was even- tually approved unanimously by Parliament on Tuesday af- ternoon with no discussion on the terms and conditions of the concession. It was seconded by Deputy Prime Minister Chris Fearne. Economy minister Chris Car- dona yesterday did not deny the fact that he had not taken the Dragonara concession to ministers, saying discussions in Cabinet were confidential. "For the Opposition to only take issue of this mutual decision, after themselves voting for it in Parliament, is ironic," he quipped, referring to the PN's vote in favour. Edward Gatt this week told MaltaToday his departure had nothing to do with the nature of the contract. "The contract required the board to meet more often than it used to and it was becoming too much given my private workload as a lawyer. I was missing meetings and so I decided to resign and make way for somebody else." While Gatt resigned on 29 April from Casma, the compa- ny's articles of association only require a minimum of three di- rectors so no replacement was appointed. There are various business establishments in St Julian's with an interest in taking over the casino concession at the Dragonara, one of Malta's old- est casinos. "There is no doubt at law, that the concession had to go out for a public expression of interest after the expiry of the 10-year period. Nothing in the rules governing conces- sions exempts MIMCOL and Casma from adhering to public procurement regulations," one major operator told MaltaTo- day. This newspaper was informed that business groups were seek- ing legal advice on a possible case of breach of state aid rules. "There is no doubt that this was no simple extension of the concession. At a concession of 64 years, it would have been at- tractive enough for the entire entertainment industry to bid for it. There is no doubt this was illegal, at both national and European level," the same operator said. The land on which the casino stands had been leased by the Malta Development Corpora- tion in 1990 to Casma, which allows the government com- pany to administer the site as it wishes. "Dragonara Gaming is now undertaking to contin- ue making additional invest- ment over the site which shall include restoration and con- servation works which shall amount to millions of euro," the ministry added. But the 64-year extension of the concession will also save millions of euro for Dragonara Gaming. DGL currently pays €1.2 mil- lion in rent annually under the 10-year lease agreement awarded by tender in 2010. But under the renewed lease pilot- ed by Cardona, the casino will only be paying €500,000 for the first 15 years of its 64-year term. Moreover, for the remaining 50 years Dragonara will pay €1 million a year, subject to an increase of 5% every five years thereafter, with the first in- crease being applicable on the 21st year. Savings of €13.5 million are the bare minimum which Dragonara will be enjoying based upon its current annual rent of €1.2 million. One businessman who spoke to newspaper BusinessToday this week said that no infor- mation had emerged from Parliament about the terms ac- cording to which the lease had been extended. "We were very surprised, and we still need to understand what it actually means, because so little infor- mation has been forthcoming," he said. "It's amazing that no ques- tions were raised by the Oppo- sition, which is quite concern- ing and makes it apparent that nobody is scrutinising such lease concessions. At the very least it should have asked what the terms of the extension were," they said. Sources said the motion granting the concession of the land to Dragonara Casino had not been brought up for dis- cussion within the Nationalist Party's parliamentary group ahead of Tuesday's sitting. On the night, when the motion was presented in Parliament, most of the Opposition MPs had already left the Chamber to attend a House committee sitting. NEWS EST Casma chairman resigned in April