Parliament has unanimously approved a government resolution allowing the partial transfer of public land in Luqa to construction company Polidano Properties Ltd, enabling the development of adjacent private and public land.
The resolution, tabled by Minister for Social and Affordable Accommodation Roderick Galdes, authorised the Housing Authority to transfer 529 square metres of land to Polidano.
The land, located in the area known as Tad Dukkiena, is split into two portions: 418.86m² below street level and 110.22m² above street level, both adjoining land already owned by Polidano.
The transfer follows years of stalled development plans due to overlapping Planning Authority applications and a contested 775.73m² parcel, which Polidano claimed to own despite it being in the Housing Authority's possession.
The Housing Authority is the proprietor of a stretch of land in Luqa, divided into two portions, situated in the area known as 'Tad‑Dukkiena', which land consists of a buildable area measuring cumulatively approximately 3,579.51m², accessible from Triq il‑Ġdida and Triq Mikielanġ Sapiano.
Meanwhile, Polidano Properties is the proprietor of a stretch of land abutting that of the Housing Authority in Luqa in the same area and accessible from the same roads, which buildable land consists of approximately 2,130 m².
Both parties had submitted separate applications to the Planning Authority, PA 02786/07 (Housing Authority) and PA 06321/03 (Polidano), but the authority ruled that the area constituted a single contiguous development zone, requiring coordination between the parties in respect of their respective applications. Objections filed by each side against the other's plans had blocked progress.
To resolve the dispute and allow development to proceed, the Housing Authority and Polidano reached a settlement involving mutual land transfers, servitude agreements, and financial compensation.
Each withdrew their objections before the PA to facilitate the development of both sites, and the Housing Authority deemed it justifiable to transfer two portions of land from its site to Polidano Properties Limited.
According to the agreement, Polidano will pay a total of €503,631.21 for the land, €51,729.21 for the underground portion and €451,902 for the above-ground portion, both payable upon signing the final deed.
The contract also stipulates that Polidano must construct a dividing wall between the two sites within one year from the execution of the final sale deed, or else the Housing Authority will do so at the company's expense.
In addition to the land transfer, reciprocal servitudes were established.
The Housing Authority will grant Polidano perpetual rights of pedestrian access, for repair and maintenance, light, ventilation, the right to open windows and apertures and projection of balconies over two plots (178.97m² and 39.21m²), for which the company will pay €268,361.40.
In return, Polidano will grant the Housing Authority a perpetual pedestrian access right over a divided portion of land measuring 126.90m², for a consideration of €66,928.73.
A clause in the agreement allows for compensation and a reversed transfer in the event it is later legally proven that Polidano does in fact own the previously contested portion of land, and, in exchange, the land shall be formally transferred to the government at a price determined by three architects appointed by mutual agreement between the parties.
In addition to these transfers, constitutions, and promises, the parties committed to irrevocably withdraw any objections to the development applications concerning the counterpart's sites for the purpose of development.
In the parliamentary resolution, Minister Galdes said that the demand for social accommodation has remained significant and therefore every viable portion of land in the possession of the Housing Authority must be utilised in the best possible way, so that its full potential may be enjoyed by the beneficiaries of social assistance.