New industrial areas and spaces planned across Malta will rise higher, but will not take up agricultural land even if that land is slated for industrial developments in local plans, Silvio Schembri announced on Thursday.
Schembri was speaking at a press conference giving more details about the huge €470 million investment in industrial infrastructure across Malta over the next eight years. The investment was first announced in the mid-year Covid-19 recovery mini-budget, and reiterated in the budget for 2021 announced last month.
Schembri said that the investment is sowing the seeds for a more sustainable economy which can harness the country’s potential for growth.
He said that there are currently 195 projects – foreign and local – waiting to find space to set up in Malta. They need a total of 300,000 square metres of space, and 250,000 square metres of that is already taken up through a letter of intent; however, Malta only has 6,000 square metres to offer so far, the economy minister added.
Schembri said that if nothing is done, there is a big risk of investment being lost, and of Malta’s credibility to attract new investment.
Prime Minister Robert Abela meanwhile said that the project is an important step towards the implementation of the government’s vision for the next ten years – taking dreams into action.
“We are also looking at the spirit behind this investment. We believe in our businesses and our country’s competitivity. In this moment, it is crucial that the government sends a strong message to accommodate industrial investment”, Abela said.
He said that the project will send the message that the government believes in strong investment but that it has to be balanced with the environment.
“The time when residents of a locality get a fright when they hear of an industrial project coming near them has passed”, he said.
€303.4 million of the investment will be dedicated to built spaces, while €69.2 will be dedicated to new plots. Another €55 million will be dedicated to the infrastructure around the industrial areas, while a further €50.9 will be for public-private partnerships.
He said that the direct impact of delays in allocation of industrial land amounts to a loss of around €136 million per year in terms of value added and 3,000 full-time jobs. Taking into account the indirect and induced effects, this would rise to around €267 million and 6,500 full-time jobs.
This will be split across 221,080 square metres of built space, 218,950 square metres of new plots, and 155,400 square metres through public-private partnerships.
Some of the project highlights are:
- Malta Life Sciences Park will be extended by 30,000 square metres through five new blocks, the first of which will be finished by mid-2023 and the last of which by 2027.
- The disused Luqa dump will be rehabilitated into a landscaped and safe semi-industrial recreational area for small to medium sized industrial properties and manufacturing. The site will be cleaned within two years, and the waste will be turned into reconstituted stone. Space will also be allocated to sporting facilities.
- Kordin Business Incubation Centre will be rebuilt in a €14 million investment for start-ups, to create small plug and play units.
- Hal Far will see new industrial facilities in an investment of just under €80 million, with polts supporting the infrastructure of large, medium, and small enterprises, SME parks, a consolidated storage facility, and various roads so to create additional plots.
Meanwhile, public-private partnerships will be made in order for the government to stop taking up more agricultural land, even if that land is set out for an industrial purposes under the latest local plans, Schembri said.
A call for offers for those who have lands in industrial areas and want to, with the government, make better use of it, has been released and has received strong interest so far, Schembri said.
This is part of the government’s plan to go more for vertical expansion rather than horizontal expansion.
Notary Jean Pierre Attard, who is the chairperson of Indis Malta, noted how Malta Industrial Parks had been rebranded to Indis Malta. He said that the agency has five strategic aims: creating more space, being more financially sustainable, being more efficient, making sure that the environment is not a sacrificial lamb for industrial areas, and improving the working environment for workers.
INDIS CEO Karl Azzopardi said the agency currently managed 16 industrial estates, spread over 3 million square metres of land, that housed some 900 operators.