"The main isse of the new parliament building, made to host the offices of the Prime Minister, Opposition leader, and Speaker of the House, is that they are far too small," Prime Minister Joseph Muscat claimed in parliament this evening.

Dr Muscat was asked by the Opposition what the nature of talks related to the Valletta entrance project were between himself and Renzo Piano, the world renowned architect who designed the project, and what changes he intends implementing related to the City Gate project following such talks.

Last week, Dr Muscat met Piano in Paris to discuss progress on the €80 million Valletta entrance project. The meeting took place during the prime minister’s trip to France where he later had talks with President Francois Hollande.

Dr Muscat said that the government will start the consultation process with the Opposition as from tomorrow regarding the project, and eventually plans extending the consultation process with the public.

Dr Muscat said he intends seeing that the project be finalised, adding that the aim behind the meeting held between Infrastructure Minister Joe Mizzi and his representatives, in conjunction with OPM representatives and Architect Piano’s representatives was to better understand the scope behind this project.

During the meeting, Dr Muscat said that he questioned whether any changes can be made to the project, adding that it transpired that the new parliament building hosting the plenary chamber is custom-built.

Pressing on the fact that the parliament building should be accessible to the public, he said that we don’t want to go to a new place and encounter problems that we have faced in the past, referring to lack of space.

He pointed out that opposed to what is being said, that the government is consulting over the project for political purposes, he emphasised that the government has no intention of going down that road.

“We are interested in mainly exploring how accessible the project is to the public.

"Although a masterpiece," referring to Piano’s project, "it was not a priority to spend all that money", however adding that the “project is here to stay and the government does not intend dismantling it since we are not here to do that”.

Dr Muscat said that he does not intend jeopardising the position of the company that is behind the project and which is listed on the Malta Stock Exchange.

He said that he does not believe in simply having a palace for politicians, reiterating that the venue should be accessible to the public.

“We are exploring all avenues with the aim of conducting a transition,” he said.

Opposition leader Lawrence Gonzi replied by saying that it was crucial Dr Muscat gave an explanation over what he intends doing, as in fact he did, since “there were too many rumours flying around on the issue”.

Dr Gonzi said that it is very true that the position of the company behind this project is not jeopardised, as Dr Muscat pointed out.

“I have experienced the current parliament building on many levels: as prime minister, deputy prime minister, speaker, among other roles I occupied, and can easily conclude that the current building is much smaller than the new one being built, the space of which was planned and created to cater for bigger offices as well," he said.

Dr Gonzi said that he welcomes the fact that the public can have access to the new parliament building but pointed out that the ground floor of the building was planned specifically to suit this purpose, to host a virtual experience in order to attract the public.

“This is a palace that represents Malta’s history, created with the intention to showcase our country’s identity,” he said.

Dr Muscat said that the architect of the project agrees that such a building should not be closed to the public.

 

Asked by PN MP Jason Azzopardi when the project would be finalised, Mr Mizzi said he was not in a position to say when the project would be completed due to a number of problems that ensued, the extent of which he could not reveal as yet.

Asked if plans are in the pipeline for parliament to host a museum dedicated to former prime minister Dom Mintoff, Dr Muscat replied that it’s a figment of imagination.