Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/376810
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 7 SEPTEMBER 2014 4 News TIM DIACONO RECENT police statistics for Borm- la are startling – in 2011, the police received 27 reports related to damage to private property there, and 35 re- ports in 2012, but in 2013 the number rose sharply to 582, giving a stagger- ing increase of 1,563% between one year and the next. The police told MaltaToday that this unnatural rise was a result of a "substantial number of reports about damage to private property allegedly caused by grit blasting originating from the nearby dockyard facilities". Grit blasting involves the firing of fine metal particles at a rough sur- face to smoothen out the surface. It is commonly used at dockyards to remove paint and rust from ship sur- faces. Many of the 582 complaints of damage came from Bormla residents who found dust with specks of white paint covering their homes and cars, allegedly the result of grit blasting. Back in 2010, Italian shipping com- pany Palumbo acquired the Cotton- era shipyards on a 30-year contract worth €29 million. "Grit blasting has been carried out in these shipyards for over 70 years but nothing suspicious has ever been reported or claimed," Palumbo gen- eral manager Joseph Calleja told this newspaper. "Now that a private company has taken over the shipyard and is try- ing its best to carry out its activities according to the yard's obligations, these allegations of damage to private property are flowing in." Back in February this year, Calleja had told the Times of Malta that he had "evidence that those interested in stopping our operations have been making a number of baseless com- plaints to the authorities in an at- tempt to hold Palumbo back". When asked by MaltaToday to expand on these allegations, Calleja declined to comment, saying that it is "a matter that falls within the compe- tence of the local authorities". "Residents collected dust samples from their homes and cars and sent them to the police," Bormla's mayor Alison Zerafa Civelli said. "A police inquiry is ongoing." "Residents' complaints weren't spread out," Zerafa Civelli said. "Rath- er, a lot of grit blasting-related com- plaints came in at the same time." Shipyard grit blasting leads to huge increase in reports of property damage CONTINUES FROM PAGE 1 MALTATODAY also ap- proached a member of the Corinthia Group, in reference to claims by employees that the international hotel chain – whose Corinthia San Gorg is adjacent to the ITS site – was interested in the site. "These are still early days. It would make sense that an area like this would be of interest to the group due to its proxim- ity. But this is something that would take years to consider," the source said. Under a new policy for high- rise buildings, the government will find in the ITS area the ideal location for a tower struc- ture over 10 storeys high, since the land is within a completely detached urban block sur- rounded by existing or planned streets. ITS is also located in St Julian's, one of the strategic ar- eas identified in the policy for medium-rise buildings. The St George's Bay area is set for a major facelift with the former Villa Rosa complex be- ing taken up by developers Gar- net Investments to construct an underground car park for 1,195 cars, luxury apartments, a boutique hotel, 15 villas, of- fices, and commercial outlets of different types, which will include the abandoned Moyni- han House, formerly part of the British garrison that made up St George's Bay and Pem- broke. The Seabank Group is also actively interested in a land reclamation project worth some €150 million, with Debo- no saying he was considering China in his search for an in- ternational partner. 21 land reclamation propos- als are currently being assessed by a government commit- tee evaluating a new series of mega-projects that range from a motor sport racing track, to floating villages, business cen- tres and hotel resorts. Bidders for land reclamation projects have signed a confi- dentiality agreement in which they acknowledge the govern- ment's discretion as to wheth- er or not it issues a competitive tender after the initial bids are analysed by the Government Property Division. The construction of an artifi- cial island along the coast road opposite Qalet Marku is one of the preferred options among the 21 land reclamation pro- posals made. Together with an interna- tional expression of interest for the former White Rocks complex, offering up 449,885 square metres of land for de- velopment, the government is seeking to develop the as yet untouched eastern coastline into an unbroken line of brand new property developments. ITS land ideal for high-rise development Damage reports to police in Bormla up by 1,563% in the space of a year Grit blasting – source of damage reports to police, as Bormla sees massive 1,500% spike in complaints