Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/939870
maltatoday SUNDAY 11 FEBRUARY 2018 News 7 CONTINNUED FROM PAGE 1 The boutique hotel and oth- er ancillary services are not in- cluded in the workings. The White Rocks area covers 45 hectares (449,885 square metres) of land but only 38%, or 135,600 square metres of the project area can be devel- oped. The whole project was planned to be financed, de- signed, constructed, and oper- ated by the consortium spear- headed by Michael Bianchi, a successful entrepreneur and middleman who fronted major business ventures such as the MIA, Vodafone, Maltco and others. Bianchi is well known for bringing together foreign clients and Maltese entrepre- neurs. The consortium includes British property moguls Ian and Richard Livingstone, the Alpine Group headed by MHRA president Tony Zahra, Bonnici Brothers owned by Emanuel Bonnici, John Bon- nici and Mario Bonnici; Mizzi Holdings Ltd, with Maurice Mizzi, Brian Mizzi and Ken- neth Mizzi as directors; Sea Es- tate Ltd with Joseph Eucharist Vella of Karkanja Ltd; Elma Ltd with Dennis Baldacchino of Tal-Maghtab Construction Ltd, and Charles Ellul of El- bros Construction Ltd. In April 2017, MaltaToday reported that talks had hit a snag, but economy minister Chris Cardona had denied the reports. "The negotiations with the preferred bidder, White Rocks Development Company, are still ongoing and progressing," he had said. "I reaffirm the government's commitment to maximise the economic, environmental and touristic potential of this long- abandoned and dilapidated site." Already four years ago, Car- dona had said his political ca- reer was tied to whether the development of the former White Rocks complex in Pem- broke proves to be a success or not. "Development pro- jects such as White Rocks had been shelved under previous Nationalist administrations, but some really strong inves- tors have now shown interest in investing in it and I am ty- ing my political career with the success of its investment," Cardona had said on TVM's Reporter in November 2014. And again in September 2016, MaltaToday had report- ed that White Rocks Develop- ment Company was expected to pay the government €22 million for the sale of the land. mvella@mediatdoay.com.mt Consortium planned to rake in €220mn in profits CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 But Delia did not deny having accepted fi- nancial support for the PN through JP Projects when asked what was the amount committed. "However [sic] implying that anybody com- mitted anything to anyone during such meet- ings is totally unfounded and incorrect," the PN spokesperson replied when asked point blank about the financial support. Delia was also asked to confirm various other meetings he held with construction develop- ers, which MaltaToday is informed, is part of a strategy to secure financial support for the indebted party and its media operations. "The party follows rigorously the party fi- nancing laws and it declares collected dona- tions as required by the same law. No indi- vidual or business has pledged anything whilst asking for anything in return. Any allegations or insinuations of money for favours are out- right incorrect and simply out of place," the spokesperson said. When asked which business entities had con- tributed money to the PN since his election, a spokesperson replied in writing: "NA" – 'not applicable'. MaltaToday is informed that several MPs were stopped from expressing formal party statements against high-rise projects. When asked about his support for high-rise, Delia said he was in favour of sustainable de- velopment and condemned "short-sighted haphazard development as practised by this Labour Government. Malta needs a clear vi- sion and a strong element of forward planning towards which the Nationalist Party will strive to contribute to." The Electoral Commission has already ap- pointed an investigative board to probe breaches to party financing rules after it was revealed that the Nationalist Party had accept- ed payments from the db Group via its media company Media.link. The PN was revealed to have accepted the financing of the salaries of its former secretary-general and media CEO back in 2016 by the hotels giant. The db Group had asked the PN to refund the donations after former PN leader Simon Busuttil, who at the time was leader of the Opposition, had shone a spotlight on the contract between db Group and the Government over the transfer of for- mer Institute of Tourism Studies land at St George's Bay. The PN has since filed a Constitutional case against the Electoral Commission, accusing it of acting unconstitutionally, as both investiga- tor and judge, when investigating breaches of party financing laws. Both the PN and its subsidiary Media.Link have previously been reported to be heaving under a total debt of €25 million. The repayment programme, in fact, has to cover several outstanding debts with various banks: €3 million payable to Bank of Valletta, €7 million to HSBC, €1 million to APS Bank, the €4 million that was collected through the PN's 'cedoli' loans scheme – which capital was used to repay other loans and reduce interest rates on outstanding loans; but also another €6.5 million in outstanding national insurance contributions, €2 million in pending utility bills to ARMS, and other creditors. The PN has also placed 10 of its clubs in a trust – Patria Trust – in 2015, under the con- trol of former EU Commissioner Joe Borg, with the specific intent of selling the property within 10 years. The deed of the trust was made at HS- BC Bank's Valletta office around mid-2015 as part of a "securitisation process" and the party raised about €2 million from the initiative. The ring-fencing of some 10 Nationalist Party clubs in a trust was necessary for HSBC Bank to en- sure the party would pay back its loan. pcocks@mediatoday.com.mt Delia does not deny financial support from high-rise developers Adrian Delia: "The party follows rigorously the party financing laws and it declares collected donations as required by the same law"