The Parliamentary Environment Committee is this evening debating MEPAs site selection report for the area earmarked for the American University of Malta in Zonqor, Marsascala.

MEPA CEO Johann Buttigieg said the authority had been asked by the government to identify sites bigger than 50,000 square meters in the South East. MEPA asked the Government Property Division to identify such sites and they came back with three. One was adjacent to the Ta’ Barkat sewage treatment plant, the other was Fort St Leonard and the third was Zonqor. The first was automatically ruled out.

AD Vice Chairman Carmel Cacopardo said the MEPA report did not examine other possible sites. It set off with a preliminary decision. The whole debate started off with just two sites.  No reference was made in the report to the fact that part of the Zonqor site affected by the project already forms part of a natural park.

“Our first proposal is that a proper site selection exercise has to be carried out with all sites taken into consideration at drawing board level.” The MEPA CEO said the authority had only been tasked to see if there were any viable sites in the south. The authority is currently looking at around a hundred other possible sites.

Astrid Vella, coordinator of Flimkien ghal Ambjent Ahjar, asked if there were other cases where MEPA identified sites for developers. Mr Buttigieg said MEPA had identified sites in the past but noted that it had carried out this exercise for the government and not for the developer.

Mrs Vella, however, asked how MEPA could be impartial in the adjudication process when it had identified the site itself. “In our opinion this is a case of conflict of interest.” Mr Buttigieg said the authority is made up of a board and directorates. A directorate had simply given advice to the government and this did not prejudice the authority’s position, he said.

Committee Chairman Marlene Farrugia, however, noted that this was not a government project. 

Mr Buttigieg said the project will create a number of new jobs, including lecturers, cleaners, gardeners, librarians and others.

Mrs Vella criticised the so-called “desktop study” conducted by MEPA, noting that the aerial pictures used were taken during the summer, when all the fields were dry. “With all the resources at MEPA’s disposal I would have pretended to see some better photos, showing the land at its best during spring.” The picture also showed that less than a quarter of the land earmarked for the project was not agricultural. The authority claimed that a small part of the land was agricultural but the pictures used by the same authority painted a different picture. Mr Buttigieg said the data quoted was obtained from the Agricultural Department.  Mrs Vella mentioned another case where 80 trees had not shown up in the Agriculture Department's survey maps. The Mepa officials should have gone on site.

 

Replying to questions by PN Shadow Minister for the Environment Marthese Portelli, the MEPA CEO said the request for the identification of sites was made by the Office of the Prime Minister. MEPA was tasked to find pieces of land bigger than 50,000 square meters, that were mostly government owned and on which a university could be built.

Dr Portelli noted that a few weeks ago, Economy Minister Chris Cardona told a press conference that the site was chosen by the Jordanian investor. For clarity’s sake she asked him to say who chose the site. Mr Buttigieg said the request came from the OPM to him directly by word of mouth. His office had identified three sites with the help of the GPD but he did not know who took the final decision on Zonqor. He refused to name the persons who had worked on the report, insisting that he assumed full responsibility.

Astrid Vella said MEPA’s dismissal of Fort Ricasoli as a possible site for the university was misguided. The oil cleaning tanks could be camouflaged and kept in use. The government should also take the opportunity to restore the Fort, she said, noting that the seaward side was crumbling into the sea. Mr Buttigieg said earlier that he had objected to the use of Ricasoli because of its current uses, including the waste oil facility. Moving that facility elsewhere was very problematic.

Michael Briguglio, on behalf of the Front Harsien ODZ, also pressed Mr Buttigieg to say who the architects who worked on the site selection report were. The MEPA CEO said he would not name names but insisted that the report was independent. He confirmed that no sociologists, anthropologists, traffic experts or agricultural experts were involved. Mr Briguglio said the report was seemingly drawn up by a ghost architect and a ghost planner.

Asked to name a few of the sites under consideration, Mr Buttigieg said these were the sites identified by NIFS, Ricasoli, all the lands held by the joint office and sites that had been proposed by the public. 

James Debono asked why the government was currently looking at sites with a minimum size of 25,000 square meters instead of 50,000. Was this to decrease the Zonqor area? Would Zonqor still be used or was it being excluded? 

Mr Buttigieg said the 25,000 size would allow the university to be sited on various sites. He insisted, however, that it was not his competence to decide how the university should be built.

 

Opposition Leader Simon Busuttil accused Mr Buttigieg of lying. The MEPA report, he said, excluded the St Leonard site but spoke in favour of Zonqor. It is unacceptable for the top MEPA official, paid from our taxes, to come here and give incorrect information. “It was MEPA, you Mr Buttigieg, that chose Zonqor.”

Mr Buttigieg challenged Dr Busuttil to state where he had proposed the Zonqor site. He quoted from the report, confirming that he had described Fort St Leonard as being the less ideal option. On the other hand, the Zonqor area is well served by a road network and would have a lower impact on urban sprawl and the ecology. Dr Busuttil said to anyone who could read English Mr Busuttil’s report was a clear indication that he was favouring the Zonqor area. 

Replying to questions by Marlene Farrugia, Mr Busuttil admitted that Fort St Leonard is served by roads but insisted that these are too narrow. “We do not need highways leading to the university,” Dr Farrugia said. She also noted that there is a rubbish dump nearby. She said she could not understand why the St Leonard site was discarded from the outset.

Joanna Spiteri-Staines, from Din L-Art Helwa, asked how the site selection plan could be taken seriously when it only indicated two sites.

Replying to questions by PN MP Ryan Callus, Mr Buttigieg said the request was to identify a site in the South East. The request for proposals of alternative sites has now been broadened to cover the whole south.

 

The committee chairperson noted that no one from the relevant part of the government was present for the meeting to answer questions.

Mr Buttigieg said the government’s requisites included that the site had to be in the south and had to be at least 50,000 sqm. MEPA then included the requisite for the land to be serviced with roads and electricity and that it should not be in a protected area.

Architect and PN candidate Giorgio Schembri asked Mr Buttigieg why he had not come armed with a baseline study on the impact of the project on Zonqor. He remarked that the area earmarked for the university amounted to fifth of the natural park.

Mr Buttigieg said this was a preliminary report. The planning process, he said, never excluded any area.

Government Whip Godfrey Farrugia told Michael Briguglio that the Labour MPs have considered a request sent by Front Harsien ODZ and sent a reply, which said that the use of vacant land should only be resorted to when no other feasible alternatives exist. He also said Environment Minister Leo Brincat is currently abroad on government work and Parliamentary Secretary Michael Falzon is also engaged on government work, hence their absence from the committee.

AD Chairman Arnold Cassola said the ‘solemn’ declaration by the 39 government MPs that ODZ land should not be built up should put everyone’s mind at rest that Zonqor will not be touched. Dr Farrugia said the MPs declared that ODZ land should not be touched if other options exist.

Marlene Farrugia said the MPs voted in the spirit of the PLs electoral promise to promote sustainable development and in the spirit of SPED – the new structural plan. If the government would use the loopholes found in the document it would be going against this spirit.

Professor Cassola said the failure of the report came from the fact that we have gone from two sites to a hundred. He said the terms of reference were not known, the heads of agreement was not published and the names of those who drafted were not revealed either. We are not living in a caliphate he said.

PN candidate Mark Anthony Sammut said the government should clearly state what it understood by south and south east. What localities are included?

He said MEPA should stop the government from building a Maltese school for Maltese children if this broke planning laws and took up sensitive land, let alone if this was a foreign university for foreign students. 

Alfred Baldacchino, a former official from the Environment Protection Directorate said this report was not what was expected from a supposedly serious entity like MEPA. The project will affect the area’s open space and have an impact on people’s wellbeing and health. The report, he said, also did not mention the fauna found in Zonqor, as if none existed there.

Mr Buttigieg said, in reply to a question by Marlene Farrugia, that the advice of the environmental protection department was not sought because he had instructions from the OPM to keep the report confidential. Dr Farrugia said this showed that the CEO’s office was trusted but the EPD was not.

Mr Baldacchino said he could not understand why MEPA had not consulted its many experts on the subject of biodiversity but had instead relied on an anonymous person. “This person is better off remaining anonymous because the dilettantesque report is not credible. This is a poor report that is unbecoming of the authority but, unfortunately, I did not expect anything better.”

Committee chairperson Marlene Farrugia told Mr Buttigieg at the end of the meeting: “Please understand that your duty as MEPA CEO, paid from taxpayer money, is towards the Maltese public. Make sure to tell the government when comes up with another request, that ODZ is out of bounds and there are other alternatives.”

The meeting will continue at a later date.