Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/969423
maltatoday SUNDAY 15 APRIL 2018 Interview 14 By Raphael Vassallo You have been involved in Malta's development sector since the mid-1970s. Malta was a very different country back then... and the industry you are part of has likewise changed enormously in the last 40 years. What would you say were the biggest differences between Malta when you started out, and Malta today? A lot has changed, but in one respect things have always been roughly the same. Unfortunately, the business runs according to the politicians. You can't do anything without a policy put into place by the government of the day. You mentioned when I started out, in the 1970s and early 1980s. That was a really tough time. Government was nationalising private banks – Scicluna's bank, Barclays, BICAL, Tagliaferro... all of them were na- tionalised. The supply of fuel was also being nationalised; and big family businesses were being sys- tematically attacked. As for myself, I was not even 30 years of age, already building the largest hotel on the is- land [Suncrest] – the largest private investment in Malta, at the time – and... all hell broke loose. When they realised, they said: 'What the hell? Who is this guy?' There they were, trying to control the private sector... and here was 'this guy' – me – making the largest investment ever in a private project. They tried to kill me, in many ways. But that was one era. Then, when there was a change of government and when the Nationalists took over [in 1987], there was a change in policy. Eddie Fenech Adami was totally in favour of the private sector. I was already all geared up; and that gave me a boost. I should mention that, in the Mint- off years, many private businesses folded up altogether: took their money, and deposited it overseas, in tax havens, etc. And even after the change of government, many didn't want to get back into business. But in my case, I was geared up, and that was a big advantage for me. In fact, at one time I was generating 1% of the GDP, on my own. But then again, the economy was small... Another possible difference is that there was a lot less awareness about the environment 35 years ago. The Planning Authority had yet to be set up, the construction boom of the early 1990s had yet to happen, and people in general were less demanding when it came to environmental protection and conservation of heritage. How have these affected the way you work? The Planning Authority... you know how it is. Some people hate it, some people love it. But yes, we are definitely more conscious about the environment today; and that is the way it should be. I fully sup- port it. But sometimes environmen- tal NGOs do go overboard... they sometimes object to small things, not always on the basis of facts. That is what hurts the developer. Don't get me wrong, I am supportive of many NGOs. They are doing a good job. One thing I have learnt, howev- er, is that governments concentrate primarily on votes. So if there is a particular project, and the NGOs put a lot of pressure... government will often give in... But doesn't that work both ways? For example: last week, NGOs disrupted a PA board meeting to protest against a permit being granted. The Malta Developer's Association described that as 'unfair pressure' on the PA. Yet developers also apply pressure on the PA (as well as, separately, on government) in the opposite direction. MDA chair Sandro Chetcuti even likened the two political parties to a 'supermarket for developers...' Wouldn't you say that developers 'pressure' the authorities, too? If you look at it that way... there is some truth to it, yes. The MDA pushes for more development; envi- ronmentalists push for the environ- ment. But Malta is small. In such a small place, you will have objectors, no matter what you do. Ultimately what we need is a plan for sustain- able development. I very strongly believe there is a way to achieve sustainable development in this country; but it has to be through dialogue. We need to talk. Take the example of petrol stations – I'm not involved at all, as you may already know. The NGOs protest against petrol stations in ODZ? OK, they may very well have a point. So, let's sit down, and try and find a solution. I think nobody agrees with having a potential bomb – a petrol station – in the middle of a village. They need to move out. Somehow, we have to find a way to do this... There is, however, more to the argument than just that. Permits are being given for ODZ petrol stations just 50 metres away from existing stations on the same road... at a time when the fuel stations policy is still being discussed... Fair enough: that is also a valid point. And there are others: where I disagree personally is that, if we're going to build a new petrol station, then we should also close the one in the middle of a town or village. Not have both at the same time... But that only brings us back to your earlier point about sustainable development. You said that this is possible; yet everyday experience shows that decisions are being taken with disregard for existing policies. We talk about the need for a 'masterplan', for instance – yet we still give out permits for mega-projects without any masterplan in place. How can that be 'sustainable'? [Sighs] I've been talking about the need for a masterplan for so long now that... look behind you: do you see all those box-files? I believe in a masterplan so strongly, that I've started making one myself. A mas- terplan for the Maltese islands. I've written so many articles about it... in fact I've stopped writing articles now. Because we talk and talk, but nothing ever happens. Even Frank Salt came to the same conclusion. In an article last Sunday, he said he's fed up, and not writing anymore. Same with me. Why on earth waste so much energy writing and writing, when no one pays any attention? It's ridiculous. So, no more articles. From now on, I'll work on a master- plan instead... Out of curiosity: what aspect of Malta's infrastructure would your masterplan deal with first? For example: one major issue is going to concern waste. Where are we going to dump all the construc- tion waste? Never mind municipal waste for now. There are solutions for that. I won't say 'incinerator', be- cause that only gets misunderstood. One way to go about it would be 'gasification': converting municipal- ity into energy. I think that's the only solution. We don't have the space for a new landfill. Even the one we have is close to its maximum limit. In five years' time, we won't have anywhere to dump either munici- pal or construction waste. But even when it comes to just construction waste: we call it C&D waste – 'con- struction and demolition'. Why are we mixing those two types of waste together? They are two separate things. One is the result of excava- tion – basically, rock... clean, inert material. That's a resource. And then, you have demolition waste, which is not 'clean' in that sense – there will be wires, and other ma- terials. That accounts for 10% of all C&D waste. The remaining 90% is excavation waste. So, let us leave at least one or two quarries where we can dump demolition waste... but let us find solutions so that we can re-use the clean, inert material. One use is very simple. Our roads are all slippery... because they're using the Malta is small. In such a small place, you will have objectors, no matter what you do. Ultimately what we need is a plan for sustainable development SUSTAINABILITY 'We're not thinking outside