The sports disciplines at White Rocks will not be complete unless they are supplemented by a motor racing circuit further down the road. There are several football pitches – apart from a national stadium – and a number of tennis courts, but Malta has no permanent racing circuit. Rugby is played here, one way or another, but our drivers are in Sicily today, Sunday, at Racalmuto because there is no place for them to practise circuit racing on our island.

If Lino Spiteri agrees that the site at the White Rocks is worth €200 or €500 million, then the Labour Party forfeited such a sum to the country’s Treasury after 1979. Similarly, if former Nationalist Minister Michael Falzon calculates the cost of 50 per cent of the land at around €100 million, and the cost of the residential units at around €195 million, then the Nationalist Party has similarly starved the island’s Treasury of such an amount between 1987 and now!

To date, both political parties have practically deprived the Treasury of substantial earnings because the site was abandoned, and it is worthless and contributing nothing judging by its present state. It is a disgrace that it has been allowed to deteriorate so much. http://www.28 dayslater.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=8519

By the same criteria, what is left of the Maltese Islands is worth between nothing and billions of euros, were we to use the same reasoning and rates and measurements.

It is remarkable that the British authorities had a knack for finding the best and most attractive areas in Malta to develop for military and civilian purposes. Our own political leaders have not been so successful after becoming masters of our country! The White Rocks Sports and Leisure Village could be a turning point. Of course, it is better late than never.

Electoral promises

Both political parties proposed a racing circuit in their electoral manifestos years ago, but

neither of them implemented what they promised. Fourteen years ago, the Labour Party in government identified a site for a racing circuit, but that administration was short-lived so nothing came of that project. If the authorities are convinced of their vision that sport is a culture and a way of life, motor sports cannot be left out. It is hoped that this government’s election promise No. 287 does not exclude motor racing.

The idea of asking entrepreneurs to develop sporting facilities in return for some of the profits from their building projects is an interesting one. Why was such a public-private model not used in the recent past for some of the major building projects, including for example the one at Tigné? Can a racing circuit be constructed using the same tit-for-tat?

I wish to suggest to the Prime Minister and the Parliamentary Secretaries for Sport and Tourism, as well as the Leader of the Opposition and the shadow ministers for tourism and sport, that they sit down together around a table and decide on a site for a permanent motor racing circuit. The area between the White Rocks and Salina appears to be ideal. They could start by launching a design competition similar to that won by the firm Mangion Mangion & Partners. http://www.mmp.com.mt/white_rocks.html

The two political leaders could invite those firms of architects, building contractors and other Maltese entrepreneurs who are not involved in the White Rocks project to form a consortium and develop a motor racing circuit in return for other building projects. There are enough racing series and formulae to keep a racing circuit busy every weekend of the calendar year. European, US and other foreign promoters could be invited to stage an international event once or twice a year and a racing drivers’ school could be set up.

The manufacturers of cars, bikes and racing cars could be invited to test their vehicles on such a circuit on weekdays, given our type of weather. Ford did this at Ta’ Qali to launch the Capri some years ago. Engine tuning workshops and accessory shops and manufacturing units could be added.

Skilled workers

If Maltese workers are capable of repairing ships and aircraft, they will surely excel at auto and mechanical engineering. The number of jobs, economic activity and sports tourism generated by a motor racing circuit would surpass those of the other combined sports facilities at the White Rocks complex for the whole year.

FaulknerBrowns Architects and PMPGenisis have no expertise in racing circuits, so the leaders of the two political

parties could invite Hermann Tilke and Peter Wahl, the leading German engineering firm that specialises in racing circuit development. If Renzo Piano was invited by direct order, there is nothing wrong in inviting the leading architects and engineers in motor racing.

Environmental NGOs have every right to express their opinions, or ask questions about any development, but they have no right to obstruct a development in the absence of a substitute of equal or higher value from their own resources.

Mr Falzon’s views on Mepa are spot on. In addition to the cases he mentioned, Mepa has also changed its policies to accommodate a diplomatic mission at Ta’ Qali. The prospects for a racing circuit at Ta’ Qali and Hal Far have been ruined by both political parties in government, so Mepa needs to identify an alternative site. The area between White Rocks and Salina appears to be a win-win location.

I hope all the sports associations and the sportsmen and women concerned will enjoy the facilities that will hopefully be constructed at White Rocks before the next election. The thousands of motor sport followers will have peace of mind if the authorities concerned were to include a motor racing circuit in their current sports vision.

Alfred A. Farrugia