Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/744537
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 30 OCTOBER 2016 4 News MATTHEW AGIUS TONY Gauci, the Maltese man who identified Libyan national Ab- delbaset al-Megrahi as the Lock- erbie bomber has died, after an illness. Gauci had played a vital role in the trial of the man convicted of the Lockerbie bombing, singling out al-Megrahi as having bought from his Sliema shop clothes which were linked to the suitcase contain- ing the bomb which destroyed Pan Am Flight 103. All 270 passengers and crew perished in the explosion over the Scottish town of Lockerbie in De- cember 1988. The evidence tendered by Gauci, who lived in Swieqi, was vital in linking al-Megrahi to the bomb that had been loaded on to flight 103. Former Libyan intelligence of- ficer Abdelbaset al-Megrahi was jailed in January 2001 over the bombing of Pam Am Flight 103 in December 1988, which led to the deaths of 270 people. He was later released on compassion- ate grounds and died of cancer in Tripoli in May 2012. Gauci's evidence was key because he identified a number of clothes fragments found at the crash site as having been brought from his shop 'Mary's House' in Sliema. But in the intervening years, se- rious doubts were cast on Gauci's testimony. The Scottish Criminal Cases Re- view Commission had described Gauci as an unreliable witness. It later emerged that the SCCRC said the Crown prosecution had with- held statements from al-Megrahi's defence team showing the extent to which Gauci had changed his mind about crucial details over the years. Maltese officers revealed Gauci was unsure, was coached and told to age the photos by ten to 15 years. Documents published later pur- ported to reveal that the lead in- vestigator in the Lockerbie bomb- ing had personally lobbied the US authorities to pay at least $3 mil- lion to Gauci and his brother Paul for their assistance in al-Megrahi's conviction. One memo reportedly revealed how the FBI and Scot- tish police had discussed an offer of unlimited cash to Gauci – with "$10,000 available immediately". Paul was never called as a witness. That the brothers accepted any money was never confirmed, but the fact that an offer was made de- tracted from the credibility of Tony Gauci, who became the lynchpin of the case. CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 The figure is lower than expected because the government is arguing that apart from a contribution from the de- velopers, there will be a significant annual concession fee. The possi- bility of the government receiving a share of the revenue generated by the consortium has also been mooted. But the sources told MaltaToday they expected that this estimate is bound to render the project un- sustainable. The preferred bidders for the re- development of the White Rocks area were planning to develop 70 middle- to high-end villas with prices ranging from €1 million to €5 million. Originally the tag to the land in question was noted at €22 mil- lion. But a report in MaltaToday last September quoting this fig- ure was rebutted by Economy minister Chris Cardona who at- tempted to back his arguments by saying: "The site related to the White Rocks Malta project is a concession for a definite period of time and not an outright sale as reported." But with an area open for devel- opment equivalent to five times the footprint of the ITS the audi- tors are finding it extremely dif- ficult to fine tune the price tag to anything remotely close to the estimate wished for by the consor- tium. Additionally after the uproar on the alleged original price of ITS, it is highly unlikely that the govern- ment will open itself to another accusation of selling off premium land for a pittance. The development at White Rocks will have the benefit of be- ing the best site on the Island with a northwest-facing, uninterrupted sea view and a vista of the eastern coast of Gozo, apart from being surrounded with open spaces and sizeable gardens. The White Rocks Develop- ment Company is still spear- headed by Michael Bianchi, the Livingstone Brothers, the Alpine Group, headed by MHRA presi- dent Tony Zahra, Bonnici Broth- ers, the construction company owned by Emanuel Bonnici, John Bonnici and Mario Bon- nici; Mizzi Holdings Ltd, with Maurice Mizzi, Brian Mizzi and Kenneth Mizzi as directors; Sea Estate Ltd with Joseph Eucharist Vella of Karkanja Ltd; Elma Ltd with Dennis Baldacchino of Tal- Maghtab Construction Ltd, and Charles Ellul of Elbros Construc- tion Ltd.. The WRDC consortium has indicated to the government that it would invest more than €300 million in the project, which will also include a small quality ho- tel and some retail outlets, apart from the villas. In the original launch to attract bidders Chris Cardona had made it clear that the development of 'White Rocks Malta' should be utilised for up-market real es- tate development that includes among others: Luxury hotels of not lower than 5 stars, luxury units and a high quality lifestyle community village. He em- phasized that the development needed to adhere to sustainable development concepts based on green construction principles in the design, build and operation of the planned location. Projects Malta Ltd hereby notifies that the closing date for submissions has been extended to Monday 12 th December, 2016 at 10:00 am (Central European Time). Details of this RFP can be downloaded from: http://projectsmalta.com/tenders Notification Request for Proposals to design, build, operate and maintain a multi-storey underground car park and other facilities in Mosta Ref. No: PML /07/2016 C M Y CM MY CY CMY K Output file.pdf 1 Monday/October24/2016 10:3038AM Key Lockerbie witness Tony Gauci dies White Rocks project still inconclusive Lockerbie witness Tony Gauci (left) has died. The two Lockerbie suspects: Abdelbaset Al- Megrahi (centre) and Ali Fhimah