Talks for a negotiated procedure to be awarded to a consortium for the construction of a new Accident & Emergency Department and Mental Health Hospital at Mater Dei Hospital will conclude in the coming weeks, Prime Minister Robert Abela said on Sunday.

Abela was speaking during an interview aired on party media, where he said that the talks with a consortium would be concluded in the coming weeks and works would start immediately after the agreement is signed.

The tender for the projects is going to be awarded on the basis of a negotiated procedure to a consortium made up of people involved in the sector, Abela said.

He said that these were investments that the government had promised and that they will fulfil.  Abela added that the government has followed the direction of experts particularly on mental health, as it has expanded its services within the community in order to reduce stigma.

Abela continued that however much one invests in Mount Carmel Hospital, the very fact that it is segregated from other health services is stigmatising mental health treatment – which is why the decision to have the new Mental Health Hospital for acute cases to be on the grounds of Mater Dei Hospital.

Another health-related investment that Abela discussed during the interview is the building of a 300-bed hospital for the elderly at St Vincent de Paule.  He described the project as one that will complement the recently opened Censu Moran Health Centre in Paola and which will alleviate the load off Mater Dei Hospital as well.

The Prime Minister said that the project will be “innovative” and “revolutionary” for the health sector, and will focus specifically on the elderly. The government is in an “advanced stage” on the issuing of a tender for this project.

Abela also spoke about the government’s creation of a Foundation for Affordable Housing together with the Archdiocese of Malta in order to bring to fruition four projects, together with the private sector, for affordable housing which will be offered to first-time buyers at a 30% discount from market rates.

The scheme has attracted consternation from the local developers’ lobby, the Malta Development Association, and is reported to have been the reason for three high-profile resignations within the lobby group in the past days.

Abela however said that he was proud of the measure and said that the tenders for each project are currently being evaluated.  He added that the government is also considering other measures related to affordable housing.

He also praised the fact that the government has implemented 82% of its electoral manifesto, saying that in areas such as the environment the administration had gone above and beyond what was in the manifesto.  He referred to the plans for Manoel Island, White Rocks, Fort Tigne, and Fort San Salvatore as examples of this: “these are the jewels of the work of this legislature,” he said.

The Prime Minister said that recently issued statistics show that Malta’s GDP per capita is now on par with that of Sweden – in 2013, he said, Sweden’s was 1.5 times higher than Malta’s, thus showing how far the Maltese economy has come.

“What we have achieved gives us credibility for what is to come. You need to look at the past, but more so to the future,” he said.  “It is this confidence and economic strength that gives us the ability to implement what we promised,” he added.

Asked about the international situation, Abela said that there is speculation over how long the conflict in the Gulf Region may end up being, but said that irrespective of when the ceasefire will be, the economic repercussions will be felt for a long time.

He noted “recent talk of another war” – perhaps a reference to US President Donald Trump making statements that indicate that the United States may invade Cuba – and ongoing wars in Ukraine and the Middle East.

“If we are looking at the international situation and expecting it to somehow transform into one of instant peace, we are not being realistic,” he said.

However, Abela said, the government’s clear commitment is that whatever the circumstances and however long they take to resolve themselves, it will continue to sustain the economy as it has done with subsidies for energy and electricity amongst others.

“We have an economy which can handle it,” he said.

He said that the Nationalist Party’s narrative is now changing, but only through convenience.  He said that if the party were to be in power, it would not have the economic skills to back up what they are saying.

“[The PN] cannot create economic growth, so it will not be able to sustain the assistance, and everything will collapse,” Abela said.

Abela also spoke about Freedom Day – which will be celebrated on Tuesday – and said that had Dom Mintoff as Prime Minister not decided to close the foreign military bases in Malta, then the country would today be in the same situation as Cyprus is.

“That’s why this year’s celebration assumes a much more important dynamic than ever before: because we are reaping the benefits of the decisions of the past,” he said.