Ralph Cassar, Segretarju Ġenerali, ma’ attivisti oħra ta’ AD illum attenda l-protesta organizzata minn gruppi ambjentali u r-residenti ta’ Pembroke.

Cassar spjega l-oppożizzjoni ta’ AD għal dan il-proġett li se jsir għax il-Gvern ta’ b’rigal art pubblika lill-Grupp db.

Il-proġett City Centre, fuq l-art tal-ITS, huwa każ klassiku ta’ għotja mill-gvern ta’ art pubblika li tgħabbi lill-pajjiż bi problemi ambjentali, ta’ saħħa u li tnaqqas il-kwalita’ tal-ħajja tan-nies għall-gwadann ta’ investitur wieħed.

Il-proġett huwa oġġezzjonabbli għal għadd ta’ raġunijiet:

L-art pubblika qed tingħata bil-karawett. Fil-Qorti ingħad li l-art li ingħatat lill-Grupp db biex tinbena lukanda ingħatat b’50 Euro għal kull metru kwadru. Prezz inaċċettabbli u tal-mistħija. Il-ftehim ta’ City Centre għandu l-karatteristiċi kollha ta’ għajnuna statali irregolari fejn l-Istat ipprovda kundizzjonijiet vantaġġjużi b’mod sfaċċat lil operatur speċifiku.

Il-ftehim huwa wkoll oġġezzjonabbli minħabba li ma kienx soġġett għar-regoli tas-sejħiet għall-offerti pubbliċi. Minflok intużat proċedura stramba u partikolari, li qatt ma ntużat qabel.  Barra minn hekk, l-evalwazzjoni tal-art u l-kundizzjonijiet li bihom l-art ġiet assenjata lill-iżviluppatur ma ġewx ippubbliċizzati qabel – kollox tfassal għall-bżonnijiet partikolari tal-Grupp db.

L-‘environmental viability assessment’ tal-proġett huwa zopp. Skont dan ir-rapport il-kwalità tal-arja u l-livell tal-emissjonijiet jitnaqqsu għal livelli aċċettabbli biss jekk tinbena mina biex jgħaddu minnha 7000 karozza żejda kuljum. Madankollu l-mina ma tifformax parti mill-applikazzjoni għall-iżvilupp, l-impatt ambjentali tagħha ma ġiex ivvalutat, u ż-żmien għall-kostruzzjoni tagħha għadu mhux magħruf.

L-iżviluppatur indika li jistenna li l-istat – iġifieri aħna li nħallsu t-taxxi – iħallas għall-mina u l-infrastruttura neċessarja. L-istimi ta’ profitti tal-proġett huma bbażati fuq mina u infrastruttura mħallsa mill-istat. Sorsi tal-gvern enfasizzaw li l-mina kienet parti mill-Masterplan ta’ Paceville, liema pjan ġie skartat. Dawn is-sorsi iżda ma jispjegawx li d-deċiżjoni għat-tħaffir ta’ żewġ mini kienet ibbażata fuq strateġija tat-trasport ibbażata fuq aktar u aktar karozzi u fuq il-premessa li t-traffiku jiżdied, xi ħaġa li ġġib aktar tniġġis u konġestjoni. Għandna l-ammissjoni li minkejja t-tnaqqis irreġistrat fil-kwalità tal-arja minħabba l-konġestjoni tat-traffiku f’diversi inħawi ta’ Malta, il-gvern m’għandu l-ebda intenzjoni li jagħmel xi ħaġa biex jippromwovi għażliet aktar sostenibbli u se jibqa’ jħeġġeġ aktar traffiku, aktar tniġġis u aktar karozzi.

Ta’ min isemmi wkoll illi l-mostri li se jinbnew se jitfgħu żoni residenzjali fid-dell għal diversi sigħat skont iż-żmien tas-sena. Ħa jispiccaw mingħajr aċċess għax-xemx.

L-istudji li ikkummissjona l-iżviluppatur jinjoraw kompletament l-effetti kumulattivi fuq l-provvista tal-enerġija, t-traffiku, is-sistema tad-dranaġġ u t-tniġġis tal-arja tal-biżibilju ta’ proġetti massivi fiż-żona. Dawn jinkludu t-torri eżistenti ta’ 22 sular ta’ Portomaso, 23 sular ta’ Pender Gardens, 31 sular ta’ Mercury House, 36 sular ta’ Villa Rosa u t-torri tal-proġetti tal-Corinthia u r-Radisson.

Il-mistoqsija tiġi waħedha: ħa ddumu titmellħu bin-nies?

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db Group Pembroke project: stop the greenwash

AD Secretary General Ralph Cassar together with other AD activists joined a protest against the massive development proposed on public land in Pembroke on the former ITS site.

Cassar explained AD’s objections to the project.

The City Centre project is a classic case of a government giveaway of public land burdening the nation with health and environment problems for the sake of a single investor.

The project is objectionable on a number of grounds.

Public land is being given away for peanuts. It was stated in Court that the hotel area of the site was assigned to the db Group for 50 Euros per square metre. This is shocking. The City Centre deal has all the characteristics of irregular state aid whereby the State has provided inordinately advantageous conditions to a specific operator.

The deal is also objectionable as it was not subject to public tendering rules and reached by a never-used peculiar hybrid mechanism called a Request For Tender Proposals – which is generic and not subject to tender rules. Moreover the evaluation of the land and the conditions whereby the land was assigned to the developer were not publicised before – thereby making it a very uneven playing field.

The environmental viability assessment of the project is seriously flawed. The air quality and level of emissions will only be decreased to acceptable levels if at least one tunnel is built to receive the 7000 daily additional car trips. However the tunnel does not form part of the application, its environmental impact has not been assessed in any way and the time frame for its construction has not been stated.

The City Centre Project depends on the tunnel – the impacts and viability of which have not been assessed in any way.

The developer has indicated that he expects the state to pay for the tunnel and infrastructure on which his lucrative project is based. Government sources have pointed out that the tunnel was part of the discarded Paceville Masterplan. What these sources are not explaining is that this 2 tunnel option was based on a Car Based Transport Strategy “based on the assumption of no change to the current car culture and a significant increase in car trips as a result of the new development”. So there we have the admission that – despite the recorded decrease in air quality because of traffic congestion, the government has no intention of doing anything to promote a more sustainable option and will encourage a car-centric, traffic congested approach.

Additionally the proposed high rise monsters will envelope in shade residential areas for varying hours a day, at different times of the year. Many households in the whole area will be deprived of their right to sunlight.

It is also pertinent to point out that studies undertaken by the developer do not take into account the cumulative impact on traffic, drainage, electricity and air pollution of the existing 22 storey Portomaso Hilton, the 23 storey Pender Gardens project, the 31 storey Mercury House project, the 36 storey Villa Rosa project and the Corinthia and Radisson tower projects.

The time for greenwash is over. Stop taking people for a ride.