Tourism Minister Francis Zammit Dimech has recently been quoted as saying that there are a few minor hitches that are stopping the government from signing the contract for the development of the White Rocks Complex to begin.

The Malta Environmental and Planning Authority board has already granted development permission to Costa San Andrea Resort Ltd, which is made up of Maltese and Spanish interests.

The proposed development would see the demolition of the existing buildings and the construction of a tourist complex with a mix of accommodation units: 210 vacation suites, 46 vacation apartments, 208 hotel suites and 32 hotel rooms – a total of 496 units.

It includes the construction of a central plaza with limited retail space, restaurants, bars, a leisure centre and other facilities, as well as the construction of surface and underground car parks.

The development also includes the construction of a new junction to give access to the site from the arterial road, the construction of landscaped areas and swimming pools, a club house, tennis courts, water reservoirs and underground utilities networks and the construction of an internal road network.

The total site area is in the region of 369,000 square metres which has been split up into three zones, only one of which will be developed. The development of this section will cover approximately 135,000 square metres.

But until the project begins, the area will continue to look shabby and will only get worse if the area remains so accessible to the public. The least the government could do to solve this problem is erect a fence to close off the area. Otherwise, rubbish, instead of going to Maghtab, will continue to be dumped at the nearby White Rocks Complex.