While any kind of judgement, preliminary or otherwise, on the international call for expressions of interest in land reclamation projects issued by the government on Tuesday should, due to the virtual carte blanche that the proposals have been given, be reserved for a future date.

One thing is, however, certain: the government must tread very carefully indeed on such a sensitive issue.

The government needs to do so not only because of the potential political consequences should there be a public backlash, but also because any such project – which, according to the government, could constitute a foreshore project, land reclamation or the creation of an artificial island - will inevitably disturb the county’s sensitive marine landscape while at the same time irreversibly alter the physical integrity of the Maltese Islands.

And while innovative ideas, as the government has put it, are always welcome, the government has not ruled out the creation of new residential developments, the prospect of which will no doubt raise a great many hackles.

And while environmental NGOs some time ago asked the government to make known its full intentions as regards land reclamation, the issue is still being shrouded in secrecy - unless one happens to have €5,000 to spare to purchase the expression of interest document, and if one is ready to sign on to the terms and conditions attached to purchasing the agreement, which undoubtedly include a non-disclosure clause.

While commercial sensitivity can be attributed to these stipulations, the fact that the government has not been more forthcoming with any of the parameters it has set for such projects runs against the open government ethos that had characterised much of the last general election campaign.

But despite the public interest of such a call for expressions and the calls for full transparency, the government is keeping the details of what it exactly has in mind, very close to its chest.

And while the government has said that it is pre-notifying interested parties about certain zones which may be problematic, it is not making these public, despite the great amount of public interest in the areas that are or are not being considered for such projects even at this embryonic stage.

Moreover, WHILE it is positive that the government is has declared that any such project would need to be economically, socially and environmentally viable, and it is assumed that a Strategic Environment Assessment would be carried out in line with EU rules, it is hoped that any future land reclamation project is not fast-tracked, as in the case of the new Delimara power station, to circumvent due process by the Malta Environment and Planning Authority.

Moreover, it should also be highlighted that Malta is a signatory to the Barcelona Convention’s Integrated Coastal Zone Management protocol, which does not allow new construction projects within 100 metres of the coast, let alone on the foreshore.

Contracting states such as Malta are also to “endeavour to ensure the sustainable use and management of coastal zones in order to preserve the coastal natural habitats, landscapes, natural resources and ecosystems, in compliance with international and regional legal instruments”.

The provisions of the protocol can be adapted in projects of “public interest” and “in areas with particular geographical or other local constraints - especially related to population density or social needs, where individual housing, urbanisation or development are provided for by national legal instruments”, but it is highly doubtful whether any such land reclamation project fits any of these bills.

Additionally, many people have found it somewhat strange that the government has not defined certain parameters that any would-be reclaimed land developer would need to respect.  The government has invited those expressing interest to ‘use their imagination’ and while this kind of philosophy is welcome to a certain extent, the sensitivities entailed here are far too great to not have the government providing a guiding hand from the get-go.

The prospect of land reclamation in any of its forms should not be automatically discounted from the outset, but the government will have to tread a lot more carefully on the country’s coastal and marine environments than it seems to be doing so far.