There has been considerable recent debate on whether the right price is being paid to the state for the disposal of public land for the Corinthia project (as well as for the dB Tower project).
Irrespective of the value of the land, it is important to also focus on other issues; for example on whether it is sustainable for public land to be used for development, in competition with a real estate market that is already thriving.
The sale of, or concessions on, public land may sometimes be a necessary tool for the government to boost economic activity but when the economy is booming, almost overheating, this logic does not hold.
Land in Malta is a very scarce and diminishing resource. In similar situations, other countries would consider publicly-owned land as a strategic asset, to be kept in reserve until really needed.
Even more worrisome, in the case of the Corinthia land deal, is the part of the concession that opens the possibility of large-scale land reclamation in the sea, without the need for any additional permits from government.
The developer, IHI, has insisted that it has no intention of undertaking land reclamation around the site, because, they claim, it would not...
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