Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/844299
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 2 JULY 2017 Events 47 Malita Investments plc has signed a finance contract with the European Investment Bank and the Council of Europe Develop- ment Bank at very competitive rates for a period of 25 years. The financing will go towards the con- struction of affordable housing units. The contract was signed at the Ministry of Finance in Valletta by Kenneth Farrugia, Chair- man, Malita Investments plc with Rainer Lovato, Principal Coun- try Manager, Council of Europe Development Bank and Miguel Morgado, European Investment Bank director for Malta in the presence of Hon Michael Falzon, Minister for the family, children's rights and social solidarity and Hon Edward Scicluna, Minister for Finance Through this financing agree- ment, Malita intends to develop circa 680 housing units consisting of 1, 2 and 3 bedroom apartments with the total cost of development including finishes amounting to €58 million. It is the intention of the compa- ny for the units to be constructed in different sites across Malta and will address a shortage in afforda- ble housing units which are avail- able to persons who cannot afford to purchase their own residential home or lease the above average and high-end quality apartments that are being introduced in the market. Addressing the signing cer- emony Dario Scannapieco, EIB Vice-president responsible for Malta said that, "The project will contribute to the alleviation of the current shortages in social hous- ing supply in Malta and generate significant positive social benefits in deprived communities. The EIB is proud to be a partner of the Maltese Government, Malita In- vestments and the Social Housing Authority in this project, which will be the first social housing op- eration in Malta for the EIB and confirms the commitment of EIB towards housing investment." Commenting on the signing, CEB Vice-Governor for Social Development Strategy Rosa María Sánchez-Yebra Alonso said that, "Providing vulnerable population groups with access to affordable housing is one of the CEB's pri- ority areas of activity. I am very pleased that this loan will increase the supply of housing in Malta, helping in particular those most in need. I am also glad that the new dwellings will meet modern, energy-efficient standards, which will have important environmen- tal benefits." In his address Farrugia said that Dedicated vessel to provide new sea freight link between Malta and Sicily Onorato Armatori Group continues to consolidate its operations by introducing a brand new ser vice, start- ing from the end of March, which will widen the ser vice offer on routes from and to Sicily for all trailer opera- tors: a new link (in addition to the existing) bet ween Catania and Malta with four weekly departures from each port and timings set to cater for the market requirements, particularly the fresh foods sec- tor. The ship, with a capacit y of 1,500 linear meters, will be car- r ying both trailers and any t ype of accompanied vehicles. The new schedule will allow trailer operators to further improve their ser vice performance in terms of transit and deliver y times. And this is not all. In line with its strateg y to strengthen its net work Onorato Armatori will introduce an addition- al vessel to comple- ment other Vessels on the Genova-Livorno- Catania route. Specifically, a Ro-Ro Vessel with a capacit y of 3,500 linear meters and 27 knots speed re- sulting in a much more efficient ser vice in line with market require- ments. "We must thank all our clients for their support of our expansion plan," Tirre- nia's Cargo Commercial Direc- tor, Pierre Canu said. "Thanks to them we are sure that in the short term we will succeed in the completion of our ser vice offer with the aim of giving them the best possible ser vice." The strateg y of the Group in investing heavily on the routes is already reaping excellent re- sults. In 2017 both Moby Lines and Tirrenia continued to regis- ter a strong grow th. In Februar y, the trend was ver y positive with a 10% increase of the cargo traf- fic, doubled as compared to pre- vious month. Taking Sicily on its own, the increase in the first t wo months of 2017 has been of 24%. Malita Investments signs €53.7 million finance contract with EIB and CEB for the development of affordable housing Summer Book Festival to highlight prominent authors, poets The National Book Council has prepared a treat for all book lovers this Summer: the Summer Book Festival – Gozo, a two-day event packed with cultural activities as well as a book fair. It will take place in Gozo on 14 and 15 July at Sir M. A. Refalo Sixth Form in Victoria, which has generously offered to host the fes- tival. The activities in the cultural programme of the festival will be based on the themes of youth lit- erature and poetry. Friday 14 July is dedicated to literature for youth. Activities for this day include a panel discussion on the topic of Youth and Litera- ture, which will touch upon vari- ous themes, among which youth literacy, and the problems of ad- dressing youth issues without be- ing patronising. There will also be events that focus on particular authors who have dis-tinguished themselves in literature aimed at or concerned with youth and youth issues. Among the guests, both for the panel discussion and the author events, there will be Leanne Ellul, who was the recipient of the Best Emerging Author Award in the 2016 edition of the National Book Prize and whose novel Gramma won the Literary Contest – Novels for Youth Award in 2014. Antoinette Borg, Matthew Schembri, Roberta Bajada, Ste- phen Lugher-mo and Simon Bar- tolo, all previous winners of the Literary Contest – Novels for Youth Award, will also make an appearance in the Festival with book reading events and partici- pation in the above-mentioned panel discussion. Immensely popular authors Clare Azzopardi and Loranne Vella will be reading excerpts of their work for children and young adults. Poetry will be the focus of the activities on Saturday 15 July. The main event, in honour of the late Gozitan poet Gorg Pisani, will be set up by the National Book Council and will feature readings of excerpts of the poet's work and a discussion led by the poet's son, Paul Borg Pisani. A number of well-known local poets will also make an appear- ance dur-ing the various activities in the cultural programme for Sat- urday. Among these Prof. Michael Zammit will read the whole text of his book-long poem, Għana 'l He- na, Norbert Bugeja will present his latest publi-cation Nartiċi, Imma- nuel Mifsud will read excerpts of his award-winning poetry books, and Kenneth Wain will be reading from his poet-ry collection Who looks at the sun anymore. Poetess Maria Grech Ganado, the recipient of numerous awards includ-ing the prestigious Life- time Achievement Award for Contribution to Literature, will be interviewed by Norbert Bugeja who will also read excerpts of her work. The Festival is open to both young and adult members of the public, who will have the oppor- tunity to browse the latest publi- cations offered by the various par- ticipants, which include some of the biggest publish-ers in the local market – Merlin Publishers, Mid- sea Books, SKS, Hori-zons, Far- axa – and some niche publishers and cultural organisations such as EDE Books, Calleja Books and the Malta Classics Association. X