The recent Nationalist Party policy document, ‘An Economy for the People’, speaks about a “new mind-set in construction and property development”, which, in my opinion, is what this country urgently needs. The same document reaffirms the party’s belief that “construction cannot be demonised or treated as a burden on the economy, whilst property development cannot be economically side-lined in the context of our local ecosystem”. That is what Malta needs, and that is where Malta is lagging behind in the present scenario where quantity, and not quality, or sustainability seems to be the guiding principle.
The document speaks carefully about construction and property development immediately after the policy proposal dealing with sustainable development. This shows how the PN treats these issues in a holistic way. In a nutshell, the PN’s approach to these important pillars in our economy is to engineer a radical departure towards quality-driven economic pivots prioritising sustainability, conservation, environmental efficiency, aesthetics and urban regeneration.
The document is not a wish list, as it specifies tangible ways on how this vision will be achieved and maintained. The PN is binding itself to strengthen the legislative framework by introducing rigorous environmental management practices, raising operational standards by enhancing the licensing of construction operations and establish innovative quality marks which will be mostly based on self-regulation, hence empowering the industry’s stakeholders.
Land in Malta is scarce, and we are further set back by high levels of fragmentation in land allocation, be it residential or industrial. Incentivising the rationalisation of heavy industry plants, and encouraging more efficiency is another concrete proposal put forward by the Party as a way to achieve our policy priority. The same applies to the promotion of wider use of advanced construction technologies and management practices.
The most recent PN administrations focused on the rehabilitation of disused and spent quarries and this was in itself a win-win situation, not least for the surrounding communities that already had endured long years of inconvenience during the quarry’s active period. The policy document prioritises this issue and proposes that these sites are turned into adequately managed sites.
Teaching and educating tomorrow’s workforce is also its priority and this is done through investing more resources in MCAST, as well as other targeted programmes aimed at educating and introducing new practices and methods to the industry. A popular Maltese saying states that first impressions are made by what is seen by one’s eye. We have to acknowledge that more emphasis is being given to the design and finishing of modern buildings, however we believe that there is always room for further creativity and innovation especially in areas such as energy efficiency in buildings.
These proposals show the Party’s willingness to address specific areas where improvements could be registered in these fundamentally important sectors of our economy. This is being done through specific proposals which can be implemented. Much importance is also being given to self-regulation and involvement of the sector’s main stakeholders who ultimately are the main drivers in the successful implementation of these measures.