Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/527016
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 14 JUNE 2015 News 17 FORTINA HOTEL T14 MIDI TOWER PRELUNA HOTEL MILANO DUE HOTEL CAR LOAN With a Car Loan from Banif Bank, getting behind the wheel has never been easier. And I can sit back and enjoy the ride while Banif secures my current lifestyle. Personal Loans Plus Protection include an insurance cover taken out by the Bank in its name to protect myself and my loved ones in case of unforeseen circumstances. BELIEVE: IT'S ALL ABOUT THE JOURNEY PERSONAL LOANS PLUS PROTECTION rates from 5 % p.a. * * The loan is subject to the Bank's lending criteria. 'Personal Loans Plus Protection' incorporate an insurance cover that protects clients in case of accidental death, temporary or permanent total disablement or redundancy. Banif Bank (Malta) plc shall be the policy holder. Details relating to the policy are available on the Bank's website (banif.com.mt). A typical example is based on a loan of ¤10,000 repayable through monthly instalments of ¤126.93 over a period of 8 years at a variable interest rate of 5% p.a. Loan is subject to an administration fee of 4% on the monthly instalment. The total sum payable throughout the term of the loan is ¤12,672.96, with an APR of 6.57% p.a. Banif Bank (Malta) plc is a credit institution licensed to undertake the business of banking by the MFSA in terms of the Banking Act 1994. GASAN-TUMAS MRIEHEL TOWERS 20 16 14 14 9 FORTINA HOTEL T14 MIDI TOWER PRELUNA HOTEL MILANO DUE HOTEL MRIEHEL TOWERS 20 16 14 14 9 is insatiable, Fenech said: "For every office we lease, we have 10 others on the waiting list." But it is equally debatable whether high-rise is a 'must'. The viability of such developments remains questionable when these compete with already es- tablished projects. MEPA is cur- rently assessing a proposal to build four commercial towers at Mriehel when projects catering for the same office space include the Paola A3 Towers, Skyparks in Luqa, the new bio park in San Gwann, Smart City, Pend- ergardens Towers, and Siema's Townsquare. So is it realistic to expect that all these projects will be occu- pied to 100% capacity? Or will we waste more precious land on projects destined to remain semi-vacant, like many of the showrooms built in the past? Evolution of the high-rise While Malta largely escaped the high-rise building boom for both social housing and office space in the 1950s and 1960s that occurred in the UK and other European cities, the Town Planning Schemes of the sixties laid down a two-floor maximum height for specific blocks. This contributed to the predomi- nantly low-lying, compact ur- ban form. The late 1980s saw the rapid redevelopment of the Sliema promenade into eight-, nine- and even ten-storey residential blocks. But Malta's first high-rise development was the slender 23-storey Portomaso tower constructed as part of the new Hilton hotel and marina. Since then, nine other devel- opment were approved with- out any policy. A draft policy in 2006 was never approved, until Labour approved the new policy – but only granting the contro- versial Mistra Heights the green light from MEPA. Mistra was issued a prelimi- nary permit in 2008, and then approved in 2013 just before the approval of the high-rise policy that limits developments of over 10 storeys to just six localities… which do not include Mistra. The areas are the Tigné penin- sula, Qawra, Gzira, Mriehel, Marsa and Paceville. Applying the floor area ratio (FAR), developers can build twice the maximum set by local plans, if they create more open spaces. That means medium- rise development of between six to nine storeys, can take place across any 4,000 square metres in all Malta and Gozo. No minimum site area is re- quired for such development in Sliema, St Julian's, Msida, Gzira, Pietà, St Paul's Bay, Marsaskala and Marsa, which could see buildings rising up to 10 sto- reys. The only limit on high rise development in areas officially designated for medium or high rise buildings is the requirement that such development has to be surrounded by four planned or existing streets. jdebono@mediatoday.com.mt A3 TOWERS PAOLA T14 MIDI MISTRA HEIGHTS UNITED GARAGE PORTOMASO CAFÉ 15 14 12 12 9