Prime Minister Joseph Muscat inisted this morning that alternative sites would be found for the “few” farmers who will be affected by the American University project at Zonqor Point. Farmers told The Malta Independent yesterday that they fear losing their jobs as there is no spare agricultural land where they could be relocated to.
Replying to questions by this paper today, Dr Muscat insisted that, according to studies, only 1% of the affected area is used to grow crops while the rest is used for silla (clover). The government, he said, would provide them an alternative location.
Pressed to say where these farmers will be relocated to, seeing the lack of agricultural land in Malta, Dr Muscat joked that he would put them in St Luke’s Hospital – the area where Opposition Leader Simon Busuttil said the university should be built – but he then insisted that alternative lands would be found.
Asked for his reaction to the report commissioned by the Church’s Environmental Commission, Dr Muscat said it was part of a legitimate say and insisted that the government is looking into alternative sites for the relocation of at least part of the university. Dr Muscat said “this is a consultation exercise that is going on in the earnest” and that the government is “quite happy” with some of the suggestions. “Unlike the Opposition Leader, we are studying these proposals. We are quite open to compromise if that possibility exists but we are adamant that this project has to be in the south.”
Asked about reports that the government is trying to identify a second site, which would mean that the university campus would be split in two, Dr Muscat said the government had said from the start that the project footprint would be 90,000 square meters but only half of that area would be built up. “We are looking at other ways to build this project, which would take half 90,000 square meters. There is a question of whether to increase the building intensity or whether to build blocks.”
On the OPM’s call for the public to propose alternative sites for the American University, Dr Muscat agreed that finding alternative sites was, primarily, a government responsibility. “The government has already carried out that exercise twice and is now doing another one in a different way, with a more open mind.” Dr Muscat said he was pleased that there was agreement about the possibility of using historical sites for the project but noted that that would create new problems, mainly related to accessibility and infrastructure. “Most historical sites are not accessible and would require the new roads and infrastructure. PN governments had expropriated agricultural land to pass a new road from Fgura to Smart City. We did not see that as a priority because it resulted in the destruction of agricultural land. If that project had been carried out it would have surely led to protests, but one cannot build a university in an isolated fort, without any road access. One would have to see what type and size of road would be needed, and where it would pass from. Ultimately there is a price for everything."
Dr Muscat said he had full confidence in MEPA CEP Johann Buttigieg. The Co-ordination unit of the Office of the MEPA's Chief Executive Officer Johann Buttigieg was responsible for the preliminary assessment which deemed the ODZ site in Iz-Zonqor as “acceptable” for a new university to be built.
PM's joke on farmers 'disgusting' - PN
In a statement this evening, the Nationalist Party said the way in which Joseph Muscat had answered questions when asked about the future of Zonqor farmers was “disgusting.”
The PN said Joseph Muscat today failed to accept the challenge put to him by the Opposition to guarantee that he would not destroy any part of Zonqor. “It is clear that Muscat wants the Jordanian speculators to build up a virgin and protected area in Zonqor. If anyone is being negative it is Joseph Muscat, who is hell bent on destroying Zonqor Point.”