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8 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 12 JULY 2023 NEWS NEWS JAMES DEBONO KARKANJA has applied to re- new a permit issued five years ago to demolish the Golden Harvest building in Gzira, originally ear- marked for a high-rise develop- ment. The renewal application repli- cates the one approved in 2018 and still refers to the demolition of the Golden Harvet factory site as the "first phase" of a "redevel- opment project" connected to an application for the construction of two high rise towers, one of 13 and another of 29 floors. But although the demolition of the building was approved in 2018, the developers had subse- quently dropped the application envisaging the erection of two towers on the 2,688sq.m site. This means that currently there is no pending application to develop the area. The permit for the demolition works is set to expire in August. The permit was limited to knock- ing down the existing buildings and did not foresee any excava- tions. But while noting that the PA has already issued a permit for the demolition five years ago, the Environment and Resources Authority has expressed its con- cern that no details have been provided for the second phase of the project, which would include excavations and the construction of new buildings. ERA is now demanding a com- prehensive and phased master- plan "in order to assess the pro- posal holistically and to avoid piecemeal development". ERA has also asked for details on the projected increase in traffic flows created by the replacement building to assess its impact on air quality. In 2017 Euchar Vella's firm Kar- kanja, had proposed the construc- tion of two interconnected towers – one rising to 13 storeys, and the higher one rising to 29. The pro- ject included 100 new residential units as well as a supermarket. The Golden Harvest building fronts Turu Colombo Square- and lies near the Gzira secondary school along Triq Nazju Ellul and Triq Reid. Back in 2017 the developers had argued that by proposing a high-rise development instead of developing the site in a conven- tional way, they would be creating a 2,000sq.m area of open spac- es. But the application was later withdrawn, and no further appli- cations have been submitted since then. Karkanja applies to renew demolition of Golden Harvest site in Gzira But ERA wants details about project's second phase to avoid 'piecemeal development' Industrial production index up 12.3% in May 2023 IN May 2023, the index of in- dustrial production went up by 12.3 per cent when compared to the corresponding month in 2022. When excluding energy, the index went up by 11.9 per cent. Manufacturing output In May 2023, manufacturing output went up by 11.8 per cent. The largest upward change was registered in the produc- tion of wood, paper products and printing (72.1 per cent), followed by the production of chemical and pharmaceutical products (33.3 per cent) and the production of computer, electronic and optical prod- ucts and motor vehicles (11.4 per cent). On the other hand, other manufacturing went down by 4.0 per cent. Industrial output The Main Industrial Group- ings (MIGs) provide an alter- native statistical breakdown of economic activities classified according to end-use catego- ries. They combine several NACE divisions, groups and classes together. In May 2023, the production of consumer goods, energy and intermediate goods increased by 22.1 per cent, 10.7 per cent and 6.7 per cent respectively. On the contrary, the produc- tion of capital goods decreased by 2.4 per cent. Seasonally adjusted industrial production – monthly compar- ison A clearer picture of the eco- nomic developments can be obtained when indices are adjusted for seasonal effects. These recurring effects are re- moved from the index series to enable month-to month comparisons. The seasonally adjusted in- dex of industrial production for May 2023 decreased by 0.8 per cent when compared to April 2023 and stood at 113.1 index points (2015=100).