Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/646116
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 28 FEBRUARY 2016 9 News JAMES DEBONO "WHEN the city of Valletta was built, there were people who com- plained against the development and criticised it. These people eventually died but the city re- mained and the criticism was for- gotten." This reference to a historical detail that is unknown to Maltese historians, was made by Sadeen Group's Chief Operational Officer Yousef Al Haroub, in an official meeting with the Marsaskala lo- cal council and a representative of the Office of the Prime Minister in November 2015, minutes re- leased by the council show. Al Haroub – who introduced himself as an "architect, artist and sculptor and more by profession" – compared the proposed educa- tional institute at Zonqor Point and Bormla to Renzo Piano's City Gate project, adding that the best trace one can leave in history was "not a factory building or a farm, but an educational institution." Al Haroub revealed that his in- terest in Malta dated back to 2002, when he was already in Malta for six months "making a detailed survey of Valletta and the need of restorations." It was this experience which encouraged him to join Sadeen Group's initiative to develop the 'American University of Malta', which is partly to be sited at Zon- qor in Marsaskala. The council released the minutes of the meeting only a few days ago following a request by councillor Charlot Mifsud. The minutes documenting the meeting, held at the WasteServ facility in November, between Sadeen Group, the council and OPM representative Alex Muscat, confirms that a proposal for a new council building, as part of a plan- ning gain on Sadeen's behalf – was not raised at the official meeting. Marsaskala's Labour mayor Mario Calleja has been accused by environmentalists of an ethical breach by accepting a "gift" from Sadeen, consisting of new prem- ises for the council. But the local governance board has ruled that there was nothing illegal or unethical in the way the mayor solicited financial help for the local council from the devel- opers of the proposed 'American University of Malta'. The board said that local coun- cils were prohibited from giving donations but were not barred from receiving them, at least not unless this compromised them in some way. The local governance report re- vealed that after the meeting, council executive secretary Josef Grech and Calleja had a chat with Sadeen rep- resentative Al Haroub, and the conversation eventually turned to the proposed premises for the new council, during which Al Haroub asked the pair whether Sadeen could help out the council in any way. Calleja and Grech proposed that planning gains imposed on Sad- een by MEPA could be partially allocated to the premises project. Al Haroub promptly agreed to their proposal. When contacted, Mayor Calleja refused to answer questions on why this matter was not discussed at the official meeting but only in a private chat after the meeting. The council's minutes also re- veal that OPM representative Muscat told the council that "the council was still at the stage whereby they could pro- pose certain matters for the evaluation of the developers" and that he did not recall any other circumstance where a developer ever met with a council prior to submitting a MEPA application, and that the council should "appreciate the fact". During the meeting the developers confirmed that dormitories would be built at Zonqor for 500 first-year students. Al Haroub also told PN councillor Charlot Cassar that he as- sumed that only 7%-10% of AUM staff would be us- ing private cars, while the rest would be using public transport. Deputy mayor and PL council- lor Desiree Attard, who opposes siting the university at Zonqor, asked whether alternative sites were still being considered as had been confirmed by MEPA CEO Johann Buttigieg during a meeting of the parliamentary committee on the environment; and that a forthcoming environ- ment impact assessment would not be limited to the Zonqor site but would assess different sites. But OPM representative Muscat replied that "part of the EIA re- quirements feature the proposal of an alternative site" and in the application itself the developer will be expected to "highlight why the proposed site (Zonqor) is bet- ter than the alternative one." Al Haroub also lamented that Triq il-Blajjiet, the road leading up to the AUM site, was not a proper- ly designed road as it splits virgin land in two and that the existing building line is too fragmented and should "have a better flow." He revealed that when the foot- print at Zonqor was reduced from 90,000 square metres to 31,000 square metres (18,000 sq.m re- main outside the development zones) "a lot of sports facilities had to be removed" but the develop- ment will still incorporate a bas- ketball and volleyball court and an indoor pool, which will be open to the public during "certain hours". jdebono@mediatoday.com.mt 'They eventually died but the city remained', a Sadeen chief officer told the Marsaskala council in historically unfounded remark on critics of 16th century capital city Housing Authority Tenders - Call for 3 Tenders 1. Repair and Refurbishment Works in Common Parts of Blocks Nos. 22 and 35, St. Joseph Street, Valletta using Environmentally Friendly Paints (Ref. TWO 1/2016). A meeting on site shall be held on 9th March 2016 at 9.30am. 2. Structural Repairs in Government Tenements in Various Localities in Malta & Gozo using Environmentally Friendly Paints (Ref. TWO 2/2016). 3. 3. Rooong Works Phase 1 – "Fuq Verdala" Housing Blocks, Cospicua (Ref. TWO 3/2016). A meeting on site shall be held on 8th March 2016 at 10.00am. Offers close on 5th April 2016 at 09.30hrs. Tender document is to be viewed/downloaded and submitted ONLY through the e-tenders website on http://www.etenders.gov.mt. 'Even Valletta had its detractors', says Sadeen's man... Sadeen COO Yousef Al Haroub: "When the city of Valletta was built, there were people who complained against the development and criticised it. These people eventually died but the city remained and the criticism was forgotten." Al Haroub – who introduced himself as an "architect, artist and sculptor and more by profession" – compared the proposed educational institute at Zonqor Point and Bormla to Renzo Piano's City Gate project