Island Hotel Investments, the owners of the Corinthia hotel group, said on Monday that certain representations of the project that were being circulated in the media were “misleading” and also insisted that it has no plans for land reclamation.
“The company already holds long-term exclusive rights to the land. The draft agreement with Government covers solely contractual terms for the restatement of our existing ownership rights to the land in St George’s Bay, nothing more. The draft limits us to potentially developing a maximum of 100,000m2 of commercial and residential areas, besides an obligation to develop two new luxury hotels. This limitation should be also be read in relation to the floor areas we are currently allowed to develop under current planning rules. The contract therefore, is about terms and conditions stipulating maximum limitations and not about architectural plans, of which there are none in our proposed agreement with Government, as these will be developed over the years to come in a series of phases and subject always to planning rules and consent,” the company said.
IHI said ertain visuals have been published presenting several high-rise buildings crammed next to one another on the St George’s peninsula. “These visuals are not ours and we consider them to be misleading. They certainly do not represent our plans, or our track record in developing landmark, balanced projects in Malta and overseas. They cannot therefore serve as a reference for an informed debate,” the group said.
“In relation to the various claims on the number of serviced residences which we are planning to develop on this site, the company would like to state and clarify that subject to the draft agreement which is yet to be approval by the competent authorities, actual architectural plans have been prepared for our proposed phase one, and these will be discussed with the relevant regulatory and planning authorities in due course. Our aim here, in this first phase, is to entirely redevelop the Corinthia Hotel into Malta’s foremost luxury property together with extensive landscaped gardens and amenities.
In parallel, we are aiming to develop two luxury serviced residential blocks, the highest proposed to be 15 floors, on land located between the current Corinthia and Radisson hotels. In total, these blocks will accommodate 90 apartments that have been designed to a standard that would make them competitive internationally and therefore make Corinthia the forerunner in this sector in Malta. The correct visual is being attached. What will happen beyond will depend on many factors, including economic viability, planning considerations, and so much more, but above all, a commitment of ensuring a beautiful development of 2 six-star standard supporting our new Corinthia hotel. A unique development in the Mediterranean which will enhance Malta’s attractiveness.”
“As to the indicative master plan which was presented on certain local media, and the claims that the company intends to develop 12 towers, the highest of which is 21 floors, the company would like to clarify that this is not the plan of the company, and the master plan being presented on local papers is an outdated volume study, one of many which was prepared in the past years, in order to analyze the different possibilities,” IHI said.
“Currently the company only has plans to redevelop the Corinthia Hotel into Malta’s foremost luxury property and develop two luxury serviced residential blocks. Our intentions remain for the vast majority of our land will remain open and landscaped, indeed the majority of the land will remain unbuilt as this is cardinal to achieve our six star standard. In itself, this clearly demonstrates our intentions to maintain a balanced, holistic environment to our proposed luxury hotels and serviced residences.”
“Finally, it is pertinent to note that we have no intention of pursuing land reclamation. We understand the proposed clause in our draft agreement is standard to similar agreements across Malta. However, we repeat, that we do not intend to pursue any land reclamation as part of our project and consequently this concern is a non-starter. Corinthia wants to achieve a very unique upscale six-star development. Such development would not be possible in an overcrowded site.”