The controversy about the building that is being dubbed a ‘new university’ for the Southtook a new twist with the Prime Minister, Joseph Muscat challenging those who are opposing this project to come up with alternative sites. I admired Labour MP, Marlene Farrugia, for she came up with concrete and logical suggestions.
These types of mega projects should take placeon appropriate sites and not on virgin arable land. This is what happened with Smart City where a committed site, which was known as the Ricasoli Industrial Estate, has been completely transformed. I think everyone agrees that the present construction is a marked improvement on what existed before. I do not agree that the chosen site in Marsascala would lead to an improvement but only to the destruction of arable land and I therefore sympathize and agree with Archbishop Scicluna’s choice of words when he states that this projectis tantamount to an environmental rape.
On the other hand, one cannot fail to note the reasons given by our Prime Minister for opting for Wied il-Ghajn. I am sure that this is part of the Prime Minister’s genuine desire to create a big project in the South of Malta. Inhabitants in the south feel that they have been given short shrift in the past. Whether this is true or not I will leave to the others to debate. But the perception exists, and this is partly true that the people in the area have suffered from social and economic disadvantages.
The Prime Minister’s commitment is in part logical. I am using the word “in part” because the area chosen does not fall within the Prime Minister’s perception of a disadvantaged locality. Therefore, applying the economic logic that Wied Il-Ghajn needs a decent project in order to revitalize the locality does not make sense. Definitely, Wied il-Ghajn is not one of Malta’s derelict areas. It does not need such a project to have an economic boost. The correctness of this statement is proven by demographic statistics.Wied Il-Ghajn is one of the few localities of the so-called south of Malta that has been experiencing a population growth. Population growth normally reflects a growing and stable economy. Many families in the South are today looking at Wied il-Ghajn as a place to take up residence.
Therefore, the Prime Minister’s argument that he is undertaking this project to inject a good economic factor in Wied il-Ghajn does not make sense. On the contrary, such a project risks creating negative repercussions, as it will start exerting unnecessary pressures on the adjunct towns, in particular on the busy areas of Fgura and Zabbar. The arterial roads of these localities are already congested. Just imagine the increase in congestion once this project is up and runningirrespective of whether this is going to be a university or a mega hotel.
At the same time, the Prime Minister is arguing that this project is being implemented to destroy the monopoly of our local university thus implying that he wants another university for the Maltese. But then, the Prime Minister is contradicting himself with the choice of site. No doubt choosing a site for a university which is at one geographical end of Malta is not beneficial to all Maltese students. It can only be beneficial for those students from the area but what about those who live in the north of Malta or Gozo? The chosen site offers great disadvantages in terms of distance. If the PM’s real reason is to destroy the monopoly of the local university – which incidentally Government owns - it would make more sense to opt for the site in Bahar ic-Caghaq which is known as the White Rocks Complex. This is an ideal place for a university. It is nearly equidistant for both the residents of the north and those of the south. I am told that this was the sitechosen by the Jordanians. However, the Prime Minister discarded it because he wanted specifically andI assume for political reasons, to have this project in the South.
Hence, if our Prime Ministersincerely has at heart the development of the South, he should take note of Marlene Farrugia’s suggestions. She proposed the site of the Ship Building and that of the Power Station. One can add the Marsa Match Factory and the school at Marsa that is currently used as a migrants’ detention centre. These can all be developed as one holistic project.
If there is an area in the South that is derelict, this is the locality of Marsa. Historically, this was one of Malta’s best sites. Its name in Arabic means harbour. It once had one of the most beautiful sandy beaches but due to industrialization, everything was lost including any traces of Roman and Arab moorings. The water here was bracken, therefore, it was the only site in Malta where one could swim in this type of environment. Such area was extremely popular in the nineteenth century until it was ruined by the construction of a new harbour at the turn of the twentieth century.
Today, these types of sites have great potential and can serve to revive lost geomorphological realities. On a demographic level, Marsa is one of those localities that is declining in population. Therefore, it needs direct Government intervention and it is here (as is the case of the Cottonera area about which I spoke at length in my previous blogs) that deserves this type of intervention.
It follows therefore that contrary to what the Prime Minster is saying, there are indeed alternative sites where such a project can take off. These sites are to be found both in the North and South of the island. Our Prime Minister is spoilt for choice. All that is needed is the will-power to be logical.