The Investments Ministry expressed surprise at remarks made by the General Workers’ Union about the government’s strategy for Grand Harbour, in which the GWU faulted the strategy, saying the Malta Shipyards would be adversely affected by the plans.

The ministry said the remarks came as a surprise because at a consultation meeting that Investments Minister Austin Gatt had with the GWU, which was represented by a senior and wide delegation led by GWU deputy general secretary Gejtu Mercieca, none of these criticisms were made, so much so that the government’s vision for Grand Harbour was described as “very interesting”.

The ministry said it was not true that Dock 2 would no longer be used by the shipyards. In fact the government was proposing that the dock would be improved and modified to widen the super yachts repairs.

The conversion of Boilerwharf for cruise liner use would not limit activity at the shipyards. The cruise liner business employed hundreds and had room for expansion. As had happened in relation to Dock 1 in the heart of Cospicua, the government believed that the regeneration of Senglea and the quality of life of the people there depended on the elimination of the heavy metal industry.

Dock 1 is not abandoned. A developer has been identified for the dock, which would be converted into a tourist and commercial attraction, the ministry said. Neither was it true that the government wanted to abolish tank cleaning activities. But the government believed it was not justified to allow tank cleaning operations to be carried out in the heart of the Ricasoli fortifications.

The ministry said it was not true either that Malta Shipyards would not be able to use the Marsa dock. The government was clear that this facility would continue to be used, even by small businesses operating in the maritime sector. Neither did the government want the abolition of Bezzina Shipyards. The government believed there was an important scope for medium enterprises such as Bezzina’s, which should be concentrated in Xatt il-Mollijiet.

These supposed objections were all dealt with in the published documentation, the ministry said. They were not raised by the GWU’s representatives so the conclusion has to be that the GWU has some hidden thinking behind this criticism.