Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/337883
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 29 JUNE 2014 8 News BACK in 1999 a public tender was issued for the development of the White Rocks based on the param- eters set by a stringent development brief that restricted development to the site occupied by the abandoned complex. The development brief issued in 1995 excluded any real estate devel- opment in the area. Basically, what the authorities had in mind was an "upmarket tourism project" set on the already developed site. The site identified in the 1995 brief consisted of 36.9 hectares, subdivided into three zones. Zone 1, having an area of 38 per cent of the total, consists of the ex- isting holiday complex and its facili- ties. Zone 2 (39 per cent of the area) consists of a mixed garigue and rocky coastline. Zone 3 (23 per cent of the area) consists of agricultural land. The 1995 brief stipulated that only Zone 1 was to be released for devel- opment, identifying one exception: an underground structure in Zone 2 which was to be rehabilitated and in respect of which no extension was to be considered of its footprint. Costa San Andrea Ltd, a consortium made up of Maltese businessmen and Spanish hotel operator Sol Melia, was chosen as the preferred bidder by the government before the 2003 election. The consortium was also in posses- sion of a sanction letter from Bank of Valletta to cover the investment of about €40 million. A planning ap- plication was presented to the Malta Environment and Planning Authority (MEPA). But the project was put on the back- burner until the 2003 election. Paul Abela, a director of Costa San Andrea Ltd, claims that in 2004 the Gonzi administration was adamantly against any real estate development on the site. Costa San Andrea were insisting on a change in plans to include an ele- ment of real estate, but the Fenech Adami administration stood firm against changing the parameters after the preferred bidder was chosen. In an article penned in July 2010, Abela wrote that the consortium's attempt to include real estate on this site was resisted by both Eddie Fenech Adami and Lawrance Gonzi. "When we were insisting on real estate to be part of the project, Dr Fenech Adami had told us he pre- ferred to issue another public call for tenders but giving us the right of first refusal. After Dr Gonzi succeeded him, the new Prime Minister told us he did not agree with the right of first refusal and insisted he was against real estate development at White Rocks." But in 2010 Gonzi changed tack, accepting the idea of real estate as a way of financing the development of a sports complex. Moreover nego- tiations were carried out with a UK consortium in the absence of any public tender or call for expressions of interest. A sacrifice for sports? At a ceremony in Castille, UK inves- tors presented their plans to build a sports complex and 300 apartments. The investment was quantified at €200 million and was hyped as one benefiting sports organisations. Similarly to the Smart City model, the real estate component was to fi- White Rocks: Third time lucky? White Rocks is Natura 2000 site 'b ut not a nature reserve' – minister DEVELOPERS submitting their EOIs for the 45-hectare site, of which the White Rocks complex covers 38%, are being informed that part of the site is designated as a Special Area of Conservation (SAC). While any development will need to adhere to rules governing the management of Natura 2000 sites, a spokesperson for Economy and Investment Minister Chris Cardona insisted that this designation does not preclude all sorts of develop- ment. "It should be remembered that Natura 2000 is not a system of strict nature reserves where all human ac- tivities are excluded. The emphasis will be on ensuring that future man- agement is sustainable, both ecolog- ically and economically." The Habitats Directive of the EU designated the garigue adjacent to the abandoned White Rocks site as a Special Area of Conservation which forms part of the EU's Natura 2000 network. This stretch of karstland between the existing complex and the Armed Forces's shooting ranges is accorded a level 3 protection which effectively precludes any residential or tour- ism related development: in 2001, MEPA rejected a golf course for the area. The coastal zone enjoys an even higher level of protection which precludes any development. The White Rocks EOI highlights all ecologically and historically sen- sitive areas on the site. "This was specifically done so that those inter- ested can blend their innovative ide- as with the environmental aspects, particularly the ecological aspects." Development on the White Rocks is still governed by a 1995 develop- ment brief limiting construction to the space occupied by the derelict complex. A MEPA spokesperson confirmed that since the brief was never repealed, it is still legally val- id. But the 1995 brief covered 369,000 square metres; the area included in today's EOI occupies a considerably larger footprint of 450,000 square metres. The 1995 brief subdivided the White Rocks area in three zones: Zone 1 (38%) consisted of the exist- ing holiday complex and its facilities; Zone 2 (39%) is the mixed garigue and rocky coastline; Zone 3 (23%) is agricultural land. Apart from an underground structure in Zone 2, which should be rehabilitated, only Zone 1 was to be released for devel- opment. The present EOI makes reference to the 1995 brief in highlighting the From upmarket tourism under Eddie Fenech Adami to sports village under Lawrence Gonzi to luxury real estate under Joseph Muscat. Will the new Labour government succeed where Fenech Adami failed in 1999 and Gonzi failed in 2010? But at what cost, JAMES DEBONO asks? Economy Minister Chris Cardona