Carmel Cacopardo
Earlier this week I was present at the property conference and listened to what various stakeholders had to say in view of the latest edition of the KPMG Property Report commissioned annually by the Malta Development Association (MDA).
The report and the discussion focused on the property market, this being defined as the construction industry together with real estate activity. Grouping these activities under one heading magnifies the perceived contribution of the sector to the economy and conveys the clear message that it expects that it should be given due weight. When estimating its contribution to the economy, the sector only considers one side of the equation. The extensive ecological and social damage generated by the development of the property market is not factored in at all.
Prime Minister Robert Abela felt quite at home introducing the conference. Recollecting his role as a lawyer in the founding of the MDA he eulogised the role of the development industry, setting the tone for the rest of the conference.
The KPMG report examines the property market throughout the year, tracking variations and discussing their significance. The subsequent media reports emphasised soaring property values but mixed-up averages and median values.
The industry is clamouring for more. This squares with the Dubai model which since 2013 has been presented by government as the future. This is a model which projects a vision of high rises and land reclamation. The high rises are here. The land reclamation is yet to come.
In discussing the development of the property market, the basic question to be answered is “who are we building for?” An honest answer would point towards the spiralling imported labour, and the mushrooming short-let sector, primarily servicing the tourism industry. Reflecting on this would signify that any changes in policy which reduces the dependency of our economy on imported labour could have a significant impact on the property market. Likewise, any significant regulation of the short-let sector would have a significant impact on the future of this sector.
Is it reasonable for our economy to be dependent on such volatility? Consequently, isn’t it short-sighted political madness to encourage the current development spree? Unfortunately, this is an integral part of Vision 2050 which advocates limitless growth and considers everything as a tool to fuel an expanding economy. ADPD-The Green Party has published an alternative Vision 2050: Green over Greed – an Alternative Vision 2050. It is based on fundamentally different values, grounded in ecological sustainability, social justice, and democratic wellbeing rather than economic growth.
The property market is focused on developing more and more along the coast and beyond, as if tomorrow never comes. Yet this island state in the middle of the Mediterranean is an integral part of a developing global ecological emergency.
Notwithstanding the commitments at the Paris Climate Summit in 2015, the 1.5-degree Celsius benchmark above pre-industrial mean global temperature has been breached. In the Mediterranean basin the rise in temperature is higher than that recorded in other regions. Yet apparently no one is worried.
Malta faces accelerating climate change risks. Climate change is slowly transforming Malta into a tropical country. We are already facing extremes of heat and prolonged periods of drought with the consequent strain on our agriculture and on our already scarce water resources. A sea-level rise, depending on its extent, will threaten coastal infrastructure and low-lying residential communities.
The islands are practically one building site. Those running the property market are still making hay. Their sun is still shining. The rest of us are collateral damage.
It is time to take stock of the situation. The property market is currently driven by the demand created on the one hand by an increasing imported labour force, which requires accommodation, and on the other hand by an exponential increase in tourism. Last year we were informed that Ryanair was projecting that its routes could carry eight million tourists annually. We are barely half the way there! It will therefore get much worse if we do not change course.
Over the years the policy response was that of Dubaification: that is a policy advocating high rises and land reclamation. This was the background to the Paceville Masterplan which was shot down by public opinion eight years ago but which is still indirectly being implemented by the Planning Authority through the excessive development still in hand or projected in the area.
The net result is the soaring of property prices together with an inconvenience which has spread to practically all four corners of the islands. The islands are practically one building site. Those running the property market are still making hay. Their sun is still shining. The rest of us are collateral damage.
There is only one way forward. It signifies revisiting the economic model as a result reducing our dependence on imported labour and curtailing the expansion of the tourism industry. We need an alternative Vision 2050, a green vision.
Carmel Cacopardo, Deputy Chairperson ADPD-The Green Party
published in The Malta Independent on Sunday: 30 November 2025
