Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/561386
maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 26 AUGUST 2015 News THE national independent fo- rum for sustainability (NIFS) has retained its opposition to the 'American University of Malta' project at Zonqor point. Reacting to the government's decision to split the campus into two; with one part moving to Dock 1 in Cospicua and the other staying at Zonqor point, the fo- rum said that it "still includes a substantial building footprint at Zonqor". "This extends into land that is not only designated as Out- side Development Zone, but also designated as a National Park in the South Malta Local Plan," the group added in a statement. While recognising the efforts being made made to reduce the negative impacts of the earlier proposals, NIFS said that it con- sidered the site assessment and selection processes to be "seri- ously f lawed." "The proposal to build part of the proposed complex at Zonqor Point in an ODZ area, which is also designated in the South Mal- ta Local Plan as a National Park, has no clear basis in the 'Prelimi- nary Alternative Sites Evaluation Report' published last week," the statement reads. "Furthermore, such a proposal is in direct conf lict with the site assessment criteria of the same report, particularly criterion 3, which was that 'Site cannot be located in a protected area'," it added. The group also said that it was concerned about the visual im- pact of the new proposal on the coastline, and in a document published in June 2015, it had emphasised the importance of the issue of visual integrity. "The configuration of the area of the National Park (between Xgħajra, Żonqor, and Fort San Leonardo) forms a visual enve- lope which is almost entirely free of visual intrusions caused by urbanization. No new construc- tions outside existing Develop- ment Zone boundaries should be contemplated within this view- shed," it had said in the docu- ment. NIFS added that the impact as- sessment and site selection stud- ies published to date, have failed to note that the revised proposal for Zonqor Point will have a se- vere and enduring visual impact on a large extent of the designat- ed national park. The forum also explained that it would be able to form an opin- ion on the decision to put part of the campus at Dock no. 1 in Cospicua when more informa- tion was made available on the proposal and its impacts. NIFS also noted that two of its suggestions, to accommodate the proposed university site on more than one site and to use vacant historic buildings, had in fact been used; "We would hope that any utili- sation would respect sustainable cultural heritage and that any designs are within the expected rules and practices of conserva- tion and sensible reutilization," the statement reads. "We also expect that the com- munities in question (in this case, Cospicua, Vittoriosa and Senglea) will now be engaged in a genuine consultation process on the pro- posed utilisation of the site, with all plans discussed with them in detail before commitments are made, and that they are not sim- ply ignored as a bystander." Toyota Malta For more information contact: Michael Debono Limited 0GLQD5RDGĽHEEXã 7HO VDOHV#WR\RWDFRPPW ZZZWR\RWDFRPPW Toyota Gozo Showroom 0ãDUU5RDG ;HZNLMD;:.*R]R 7HO JJV#WR\RWDFRPPW 5 year WARRANTY DEBONO F I N A N C E ONLY 5.5% VARIABLE RATE OVER 6 YEARS Sustainability forum says private university selection processes 'seriously flawed' The national independent forum for sustainability reiterates opposition to construction of university on ODZ land in Zonqor How Zonqor looks today (above) and how it will look once the faculties and dormitory are built (below) Vienna International aims to raise MIA stake to more than 48% MIRIAM DALLI VIENNA International Airport (VIA) has tabled an offer to raise its stake in the Malta Interna- tional Airport to more than 48% for around €63 million. VIA on Monday announced it had made an offer – conditional on the approval of its supervi- sory board – to acquire SNC Lavalin Inc's stake in MIA. Since the privatisation of Mal- ta Airport in 2002, 40% of it has been held by the consortium company Malta Mediterranean Link Consortium Limited, in which VIA has a 57.1% holding via its subsidiary VIE (Malta) Limited. VIA also provides op- erating management for MIA and directly holds a further 10.1% of the shares in Malta Airport through VIE (Malta) Limited. At present, VIA's total holding in Malta Airport equals 32.94%. The Canadian company SNC Lavalin Inc. also has a holding in Malta Mediterranean Link Consortium Limited. VIA said that its objective in making the offer to acquire SNC Lavalin Inc's stake in the joint consortium company was to in- crease its total holding in Malta Airport by a further 15.5%. If the offer is accepted, VIA's total holding in Malta Airport would reach more than 48%. However, the precise structure of the transaction has yet to be decided. The purchase price of- fered is €3.00 per share. "Upon successful completion of the transaction its total value would amount to approximately €63 million. In case of a positive conclusion of the final negotia- tions, the closing can be expect- ed within the next six months," VIA said. Back in August 2013, Malta- Today reported that SNC Lava- lin were planning to pull out of MIA after the company made a surprise disclosure of a possible US$45.6 million loss from a cli- ent's attempt to draw on a credit line for the Libya work that it abandoned during the upris- ing against dictator Muammar Gaddafi. SNC Lavalin employees were accused of paying US$160 mil- lion in bribes to obtain business in Libya, including the purchase of luxury yachts for the son of the late dictator, according to a Royal Canadian Mounted Police search warrant. The World Bank has also slapped SNC-Lavalin with a record-setting sanction, barring the engineering firm and 100 of its subsidiaries from bidding on any of the bank's development projects for the next decade, after SNC agreed not to dis- pute charges that it conspired to bribe several Bangladeshi public officials in an effort to secure a $50 million bridge contract.