Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1529157
MATTHEW VELLA mvella@mediatoday.com.mt 5 NEWS maltatoday | SUNDAY • 10 NOVEMBER 2024 ANNOUNCEMENT OF A CALL FOR PROJECT PROPOSALS UNDER The Common Agricultural Policy Strategic Plan 2023-2027 The Ministry responsible for European Funds announces the launch of a call for project proposals as indicated hereunder: Intervention 75.1: Setting up of young farmers. The call will close on Friday 28 th March 2025 at noon. The online application form for the submission of project proposals and supporting documentation are available on https://fondi.eu/what-funding-is-available/. Prospective applicants are encouraged to refer to the Common Agricultural Policy Strategic Plan and the Guidance Notes to confirm whether their proposals are eligible for funding through this call. Further information on this call and on the Common Agricultural Policy Strategic Plan may be obtained from https://fondi.eu/. Any query should be sent by email on fondi.eu@gov.mt. A number of dedicated information sessions are being organised on: • Monday 11 th November 2024 • Wednesday 13 th November 2024 • Friday 15 th November 2024 • Friday 22 nd November 2024 More details on the information session as well as registration can be accessed by scanning the below QR code or call on 2779 7300. QR CODE ANNOUNCEMENT OF A CALL FOR PROJECT PROPOSALS UNDER The Common Agricultural Policy Strategic Plan 2023-2027 The Ministry responsible for European Funds announces the launch of a call for project proposals as indicated hereunder: Intervention 75.1: Setting up of young farmers. The call will close on Friday 28 th March 2025 at noon. The online application form for the submission of project proposals and supporting documentation are available on https://fondi.eu/what-funding-is-available/. Prospective applicants are encouraged to refer to the Common Agricultural Policy Strategic Plan and the Guidance Notes to confirm whether their proposals are eligible for funding through this call. Further information on this call and on the Common Agricultural Policy Strategic Plan may be obtained from https://fondi.eu/. Any query should be sent by email on fondi.eu@gov.mt. A number of dedicated information sessions are being organised on: • Monday 11 th November 2024 • Wednesday 13 th November 2024 • Friday 15 th November 2024 • Friday 22 nd November 2024 More details on the information session as well as registration can be accessed by scanning the below QR code or call on 2779 7300. QR CODE Government seeks design teams in first step towards new Gozo hospital GOVERNMENT is scoping the market for potential interest in the design and construction of a new Gozo hospital, a process aban- doned when the Steward Health Care concession was terminated. The Health Ministry has launched a preliminary market consultation to identify poten- tial service providers in health- care design and construction. The ministry is seeking a full suite of services – architectur- al, structural, mechanical, elec- trical, biomedical, ICT, med- ical planning, interior design, and specialist design. The Gozo General Hospital has long been a hallmark of the Labour a d m i n i s t r a - tion's bitter e x p e r i e n c e with the Vi- tals, later Steward, pri- vatisation that led to its annul- ment by a court over fraudulent procure- ment. Criminal charges have also been filed against former prime minister Joseph Muscat and a host of former ministers and pub- lic functionaries. The government is now seek- ing submissions from design teams that can deliver a state- of-the-art healthcare facility and medical service. Gozo General Hospital is the only hospital for the island of Gozo and is located outside the city of Victoria. Historically, the original structure was estab- lished in 1907 as a small infir- mary. Its most significant expan- sion occurred in the 1970s, when the current Gozo General Hos- pital building was constructed, replacing the older structures. The latest addition being the Queen Mary University of Lon- don (Barts Medical School) fin- ished in 2019. The construction of the medical school was the only substantial investment that resulted from the now defunct concession agreement. As a result of the school, the hospital is now considered as a medical training hospital. Earlier this year, Health Minister Jo Etienne Abela (left) said a new hospital in Gozo would take five to seven years to build. Last month, Abela an- nounced that the first phase of the Gozo General Hospital regeneration project was underway. The minister had said that a number of elderly patients currently in the Male Geriatric Ward, who require long-term care will be relocated to Dar San Ġużepp in Għajnsielem in preparation for the project. Abela said once the reloca- tion is complete, the final phase of geological tests on the site, where the new acute hospital with around 400 beds will be de- veloped, will commence. Works on a new Gozo hospital had not even started by the date of a civil court judgment that cancelled the privatisation deal back in February 2023. A new hospital was part of the contrac- tual obligations. The original concession was not only annulled, but a magiste- rial inquiry into the deal sparked criminal proceedings against Jo- seph Muscat, his chief of staff Keith Schembri, former health minister Konrad Mizzi and dozens of other former minis- ters and civil servants. They all deny wrongdoing.