Cardona once again skirts around questions on White Rocks development

Economy Minister Chris Cardona has once again skirted around questions on the White Rocks redevelopment project, which is still to materialise despite promises made by successive administrations.

The White Rocks Development Consortium, led by hotelier Tony Zahra, plans to develop the area into a mixed-use complex, including a seven-star luxury hotel, along with leisure, hospitality, residential and commercial units. The investment for the land in question is expected to total €400 million.

But the deal has been on the rocks for a number of months now, reportedly because the developers and the government have not agreed on a selling price for the land.

Last June, Cardona told Parliament that the proposal was still at an “advanced negotiation stage” - an expression he had already used in February.

Asked in Parliament by PN MP Chris Said to state what progress has been made since, the minister simply said that the government’s objective was to find a balance between the financial and economic targets with full respect toward the environment and surrounding communities.

The White Rocks site, formerly used as the officers’ married quarters for the British forces, has lain abandoned since the 1990s, with successive administrations announcing grandiose plans for the area.

In 2010, then Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi had announced that the site would be developed into a sports village but, like other proposals, this turned out to be a white elephant.