The Nationalist Party said Monday it is against the government’s plans to hand over 504 square metres of the shoreline and 16,000 square metres of the sea in Sliema to the private sector.

The PN was referring to the announcement by the government that pontoons will be laid for boats to dock in front of the Fortina Hotel.

The government has submitted a motion for the transfer of the site for 65 years at a price of €5.65 per square metre.

Nationalist MPs Darren Carabott, Graham Bencini and Rebekah Borg, who are members of the Public Accounts Committee, said in a statement that the government is doing the opposite of what it is preaching.

Through the motion, the government will be denying the public an open space used for swimming and undermine the environment of the area. 

All this was a result of greed and a lack of planning, the PN said.  

Government reacts

In reaction, the government said that the PN's statement is not based on facts.It said that this is a €7 million investment on an original concession of a lido and restaurants at street level that was given to Fortel Services Ltd in 1991, under a PN administration. The motion was presented in Parliament transparently, and "is to improve existing structures according to a permit issued last year, and involves the removal of the existing pool and the construction of one instead of it. That the shore be extended, a restaurant be built and a square with the shore where today there is a restaurant."

"In this square there will be a garden and benches. The removal of the restaurant will mean that  people will enjoy the view of Valletta more from this side of Sliema. A passage around the lido will be built that will be for public use, it said. At sea, temporary pontoons will be built to complement the project. These pontoons will be removed in summer, even as they cannot be kept permanently due to the elements."