Government says negotiations on the White Rocks Malta project still ongoing and progressing

The Ministry for the Economy, Investment and Small Business yesterday categorically denied a report published in MaltaToday entitled ‘White Rocks project hits the rocks’.

The ministry can confirm, the statement said, that, contrary to what is being reported, the negotiations with the preferred bidder, White Rocks Development Company, are still ongoing and progressing.

The Ministry for the Economy, Investment and Small Business reaffirms the government’s commitment to maximise the economic, environmental and touristic potential of this longabandoned and dilapidated site.

The newspaper said yesterday the project had ‘hit the rocks’. The problem in the talks is over price, the paper said, with the would-be developers making comparisons with what the db Group paid for their land in St George’s Bay.

Just two bids were submitted for the privatisation and development of the proposed luxury village at the White Rocks, a former holiday complex originally built by the British forces as married quarters for servicemen.

Eleven proposals had been submitted in the call for expressions of interest in the project.

The process was launched in June 2015 after the government earmarked the site for upmarket real estate development, including five-star hotels and luxury units.