Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/556862
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 16 AUGUST 2015 News 3 ESF 3.234 LEAP PROJECT FINAL FULL DAY CONFERENCE Wednesday 9 th September 2015 All project beneficiaries, host organisations, network representatives within the LEAP regions and interested stakeholders are invited to join us for this conference marking the success of the project and promoting new ventures. Interested individuals are to contact Mr Michael Pulis via email on michael.pulis@gov.mt or by phone (office hours) on 25903465 / 25903466 Applications will be accepted on a first come first served basis Operational Programme II – Cohesion Policy 2007-2013 Empowering People for More Jobs and a Better Quality of Life Project part-financed by the European Union European Social Fund (ESF) Co-financing rate: 85% EU Funds; 15% National Funds Investing in your future MDA president still hoping for €2.4 million land buy at Zonqor MATTHEW VELLA THE Malta Developers' Associa- tion's president, Sandro Chet- cuti, has an interest in a large tract of land in Marsaskala that is adjacent to the Zonqor Point area where the Maltese govern- ment would like to see a private university built. Chetcuti is not yet the owner of the land, which covers a total of 7,850 square metres in agri- cultural land and surrounding garigue. But a promise-of-sale agree- ment he signed in 2006 has been regularly renewed since then. As it stands, the land occupies the undeveloped area inside a built-up zone at the tip of Mar- saskala, right beneath the Zon- qor area where it is believed the American University of Malta would be situated. The land borders on Triq l- Ghagusa, and was introduced into the building scheme back in 2006 during the Nationalist gov- ernment's controversial exten- sion of building zones. Chetcuti entered into the Lm1.03 million deal (€2.4 mil- lion) together with renowned property developer Anton Camilleri of Garnet Invest- ments, which recently acquired the Villa Rosa and St George's Bay Hotel in St Julian's for €15 million. Although the promise-of-sale agreement was extended, in 2008 one of the vendors – Horace Gatt – had written to the rest of the Gatt family's heirs informing them that Chetcuti wanted to complete the acquisition. Since the vendors owned just nine parts out of 13 of the entire land, Chetcuti's notary – Labour MP Charles Mangion – suggested they file a court application so that the court assumes respon- sibility for the remaining land, owned by unidentified heirs. Government critics have re- peatedly claimed that lands bordering or forming part of Zonqor Point, identified for the construction of the controver- sial American University, belong to property owners close to the Labour establishment. But there is no evidence to suggest that Chetcuti's pending land deal had any bearing on the proposal to have Zonqor host the American University. Back in June, Sandro Chetcuti had re- futed suggestions that the land he had tried to acquire since 2006 had anything to do with the private university, in comments to The Malta Independent. Prime Minister Joseph Muscat has insisted that part of AUM's campus will still be constructed at Zonqor, which he claims will be of benefit to the south of the island. Muscat's decision comes after a 3,000-strong protest led by the newly-formed Front Harsien ODZ, thronged Valletta's Re- public Street to protest the uni- lateral decision to hand over the land to a Jordanian construction company, Sadeen, to create the fledgling American University of Malta, which has not yet been licensed by the higher-education regulator. Another part of the campus is to be situated somewhere in Cottonera. In his comments to the Inde- pendent, Chetcuti had admitted being still interested in acquiring the plot of land, and that the deal had not yet materialised due to inheritance issues. "It does not belong to me because the deal did not go through. I did not buy it and I swear on my chil- dren's lives that it has nothing to do with the university project," Chetcuti had said. Days after the Maltese gov- ernment announced plans for a 4,000-student campus at Zonqor Point, much to the consterna- tion of the environmental lobby, Chetcuti had actually called for a "genuine effort" to find an alter- native, less pristine site for the university. Earlier in November 2014, Chetcuti championed the pro- posal to build three hotels on the land stretching from Smart City to Zonqor Point, which he had described as "shabby and unused." The proposal came on the strength of a brief for the "regeneration of the south", pre- pared by the government's pri- vatisation unit at the request of the Consultative Council for the South, led by Labour MP Silvio Parnis. Chetcuti, who sits on the coun- cil in his personal capacity, had said that the country needs to attract tourism to the south by developing hotels in "shabby, unused and abandoned areas in the south." These areas, Chetcuti had in- sisted, "are not good for agricul- tural purposes or to be enjoyed as open countryside." The brief for the regeneration of the south, which was later dismissed by the Prime Min- ister, proposed the transfer of public land to the private sector via 99-year concessions to build a five-star hotel in the vicinity of Smart City, a boutique hotel in the historic Fort St Leonard and a hotel at Zonqor Point. GOVERNMENT whip Godfrey Farrugia announced that he is suf- fering from prostate cancer and will be undergoing surgery in the UK. In a Facebook message he posted yesterday evening, the MP thanked well-wishers and gave an update about his condition. Earlier, his partner and Labour backbencher Marlene Farrugia said that Farrugia was still in hospital but his condition had improved. In his candid post, Farrugia ex- plained that he got to know about the gravity of his condition after undergoing routine tests which showed that his prostate specific antigen was abnormally high. "Obviously I sought a specialist consultation, who in turn directed me towards MRI, which resulted that I have two new growths in my prostate gland," the MP said. Farrugia, a GP himself, added that following a biopsy he suffered from some complications and spent three days in hospital after devel- oping a very high fever. The results of the biopsy con- firmed that Farrugia has "aggres- sive cancer of the prostate, which requires radical surgery or radio- therapy." Such procedures are routinely carried out in a London hospital and the MP will undergo surgery to eradicate the tumour, as soon as the necessary arrangements are made. Ending his brief message on an optimistic note, Farrugia said "hopefully, within fifteen days from surgery, I will be up and about de- livering my Parliamentary duties with the usual vigour..." In a statement issued through the Department of Information, Speaker Anglu Farrugia said he visited the government whip at the hospital where he wished him a speedy recovery. Godfrey Farrugia to undergo surgery for prostate cancer 21 people arrested in police drug bust THE police drug squad arrested 21 people, aged between 22 and 36, on Friday night dur- ing inspections carried out in a number of lo- calities around Malta. In a brief statement, the police said that those arrested had been found in possession of cocaine, cannabis and ecstacy. The arrested people include both Maltese nationals and foreigners. Investigations are ongoing. Godfrey Farrugia An aerial view of Zonqor Point