The projects Malta is to undertake with the €855 million in EU funding are slated for approval and have been given the “green light”, Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi told a business breakfast of tourism industry stakeholders yesterday morning.

“Out of the entire 27 EU member states, Malta was the first country whose budgetary plans have been approved, and for which it has agreed to our proposed division of funding,” Dr Gonzi said.

“At this stage, and to the best of information at hand, the EU has given us the green light,” he added. “This means that today we have the resources that we did not have five years ago – e855 million in EU funding, e300 million of which is to go specifically to environmental initiatives. While already having carried out extensive upgrading in the environment and infrastructure, we will be able to do much more.”

Such future work related to tourism, he said, including an upgrading of the Bugibba and Qawra area, while the scuba diving industry in the area would also be enhanced. Bastions would be renovated, new beaches created, temples would be maintained and restored, while the same, he observed, went for Forts St Angelo and St Elmo.

Tourism, he told a group of the industry’s operators, would continue to remain at the heart of a future Nationalist administration, and indeed, as outlined in the PN’s vision for 2015, is one of the areas envisaged to be turned into a centre of excellence.

Moreover, tourism is to benefit from the two packages announced by the PN so far over the electoral campaign – namely the economic stimulus and environmental packages.

The economic package, according to Dr Gonzi, would put e46.6 million in people’s pockets – allowing small business owners such as restaurants, bars, tourism shops and smaller hotels an incentive to upgrade their operations.

In terms of the environmental package announced on Tuesday, Dr Gonzi observed that any work in the area not only benefits the quality of life of the Maltese people, but is also “intimately” linked to tourism.

As a result of the package, Malta’s natural and historical assets are to be invested heavily into so that the Malta experience continues to be a “unique” experience that cannot be replicated anywhere else in the world.

Taking a question from the floor, Dr Gonzi remarked that the Malta Environment and Planning Authority has already been revamped and that the former helter-skelter development of the islands has been controlled and is now a thing of the past.

There is more to be done along these lines, he said, adding that he would ensure this would be done if a full reform of the authority was placed under the wing of the Prime Minister as envisaged by the party’s environmental proposals.

While enforcement activities by Mepa are to be bolstered, Dr Gonzi added there were other areas of enforcement that also needed to be beefed up.

Turning to a common complaint from the tourism industry, Dr Gonzi said police enforcement against alcohol abuse would also be strengthened. After the millions Malta has invested in its tourism product – from the introduction of low cost carriers to marketing campaigns – “we do not need the country’s image to be tarnished because of a rowdy group of 10 to 15 people making a racket. This applies not only to foreign students but also Maltese youths”.

Malta, he said, faces acute environmental challenges given its high population density, which was the highest in the EU and one of the highest in the world. Similarly, Malta had the highest vehicle density in the EU, at some five times higher than that of Holland, in second place.

Asked about the potential for further public-private partnerships, Dr Gonzi cited the work done by the Environmental Landscape Consortium as a PPP model at its best. He added, “We recently decided to replicate the scheme in Gozo, but this time the ELC would dictate the workers it would be taking on.”

There are other variations on the theme, he explained, such as the national park at Xaghra l-Hamra, which would be run by a group of non-governmental organisations. St George’s Bay was another case in point, he said, adding “We are looking to develop the model further at other beaches, in terms of the management of concessions and cleaning operation, which I am personally all for.”

Taking another question, Dr Gonzi confirmed the issue of the vacant White Rocks tourism complex, which he said had faced difficulties in getting off the ground but through no fault of the government, would be addressed over the next legislature. The area, he stressed, was a prime site located very close to the golden mile where much of the cream of Malta’s hotels were located.

But, he warned, “no one will force me into a direction that is not best for the country.”

Dr Gonzi also cited a problem with education in that there were more teachers retiring each year than new enrolments in teaching courses. The same, he observed, could be said of doctors and nurses.