Iffirmata l-Letter of Committment dwar il-Progett ta' Manoel Island/Tigne'

Wara li xahar ilu l-Awtorit'? ta' l-Ippjanar approvat unanimament l-outline application għall-pro'ett kollu ta' Manoel Island u Tign'?, illum sar pass ieħor importanti 'l quddiem lejn it-twettiq ta' dan il-pro'ett meta rappreżentanti tal-Konsorzju MIDI, immexxija miċ-Chairman, is-Sur Albert Mizzi, iffirmaw il-Letter of Commitment biex b'hekk intrabat li jżomm mal-kundizzjonijiet stabbiliti fil-ftehim li ntlaħaq mal-Gvern.

Ma' l-iffirmar ta' din l-ittra ta' impenn, li sar fil-preżenza tal-Ministru għall-Ambjent Francis Zammit Dimech, li mexxa n-negozjati għan-naħa tal-Gvern, il- MIDI ippreżenta wkoll bid bond ta' Lm1 miljun.

Il-kuntratt finali bejn il-Gvern u l-konsorzju biex il-MIDI jiżviluppa Manoel Island u Tign'? f'ċentru residenzjali, kummerċjali, turistiku u kulturali, se jkun iffirmat wara li jkun diskuss u approvat mill-Kumitat tal-Kontijiet dwar l-Uffiċċju Nazzjonali tal-Verifika.

Din se tkun l-ewwel darba li mozzjoni dwar trasferiment ta' art tal-Gvern se tintbagħat quddiem il-Kumitat tal-Kontijiet dwar l-Uffiċċju Nazzjonali tal-Verifika u dan wara l-emenda li saret ix-xahar li għadda fl-Att dwar it-Trasferiment ta' Artijiet tal-Gvern. Skond din l-emenda, kwalunkwe trasferiment ta' proprjet'? tal-Gvern li jkun jeħtie' riżoluzzjoni quddiem il-Parlament, din għandha l-ewwel titressaq quddiem dan il-Kumitat. Fi żmien xahar, il-Kumitat ikun irid jirrapporta lill-Parlament u jekk il-Kumitat ikun qabel unanimanent ma' dak it-trasferiment, ma jsirx dibattitu dwaru fil-Parlament u l-Kamra tgħaddi mill-ewwel għall-vot.

F'diskors li għamel wara l-iffirmar tal-Letter of Commitment, il-Ministru Zammit Dimech esprima s-sodisfazzjon tiegħu għall-fatt li d-diskussjonijiet kienu konklużi b'suċċess wara sensiela twila ta' negozjati mhux biss mal-konsorzju iżda wkoll biex ikunu riżolti diversi problemi, l-aktar dawk marbuta ma' 60 każ ta' vacant possession.

Filwaqt li fakkar li dan il-pro'ett kien beda jitfassal fil-bidu tas-snin disgħin wara l-pubblikazzjoni ta' development brief, il-Ministru Zammit Dimech qal li dan il-pro'ett se jipprovdi stimulu lill-ekonomija tal-pajjiż kemm waqt il-fazijiet ta' kostruzzjoni kif ukoll wara li jitlesta.

Hu irrifera għan-negozjati li saru mal-konsorzju MIDI tul dawn l-aħħar sitt snin, u esprima s-sodisfazzjon tiegħu għall-fatt li wara li l-amministrazzjoni preċedenti kienet aċċettat li l-proprjet'? għandha tgħaddi lill-konsorzju b'enfitwesi perpetwa, issa b'riżultat tan-negozjati li saru tul din l-aħħar sena, il-proprjet'? se tingħata b'ċens għal 99 sena, inkluża dik li l-MIDI se jiżviluppa għal skopijiet kummerċjali. Madankollu, min jixtri proprjet'? residenzjali mingħand l-iżviluppaturi se jkollu d-dritt jibdel it-titlu għal wieħed ta' ċens perpetwu għalih innifsu. Partijiet minn Manoel Island se jibqgħu jikkostitwixxu spazji miftuħa u kemm dawn l-ispazji kif ukoll ix-xatt kollu madwar Manoel Island se jkunu aċċessibbli għall-pubbliku.

Il-Ministru Zammit Dimech fakkar li l-konsorzju qed jintrabat li jgħaddi lill-Gvern Lm40.1 miljun, li jikkonsistu f'Lm25.6 miljun f'għotjiet, Lm9 miljun f'xogħlijiet infrastrutturali kemm fil-Ponta ta' Tign'? kif ukoll fuq Manoel Island, u Lm5.5 miljun għal xogħlijiet ta' restawr, l-aktar fuq Forti Manoel, Forti Tign'? u fuq Lazzarett. Il-konsorzju mistenni joħro' madwar Lm800,000 oħra biex tkun riklamata art f'Manoel Island fejn il-konsorzju se jibni yacht marina.

Barra minn hekk, kompla l-Ministru Zammit Dimech, il-konsorzju qed jintrabat ukoll li jħallas ċens annwali ta' Lm480,000 għall-ewwel 25 sena, li jitla' għal Lm840,000 fis-26 sena, u li jkompli jitla' għal Lm960,000 fil-51 sena.

Hu żied li ma' l-iffirmar tal-kuntratt, il-konsorzju jrid jissottometti lill-Gvern evidenza ta' finanzjament inizjali ta' Lm33 miljun, li jinkludu Lm2.3 miljun f'kapital maħru' u mħallas u garanziji bankarji għal aktar investiment mill-azzjonisti fl-ammont ta' Lm9.7 miljun. Dan ifisser investiment dirett ta' Lm12-il miljun mill-azzjonisti kif stipulat fil-letter of intent ori'inali.

Punt importanti fil-kuntratt u li jilħaq l-objettiv tal-Gvern, kompla spjega l-Ministru Zammit Dimech, hu li l-MIDI jista' biss ibiegħ l-iżvilupp li jagħmel u assolutament ma jistax ibiegħ art mingħajr żvilupp fuqha. Ix-xogħol fuq l-ewwel fażi – dik fil-Ponta ta' Tign'? – irid jibda immedjatament wara li jkun approvat mill-Awtorit'? ta' l-Ippjanar u jrid jitlesta fi żmien stabbilit. Il-pro'ett kollu mistenni jieħu bejn tmienja u għaxar snin biex jitlesta. Il-Gvern se jagħmel monitora'' strett tal-fażijiet kollha ta' l-iżvilupp.

Il-Ministru Zammit Dimech stqarr li dan il-pro'ett se jkun ta' benefiċċju kbir għall-pajjiż u se jibdel totalment id-dehra ta' Manoel Island u tal-Ponta ta' Tign'? minn postijiet mitluqa għal ċentru ta' l-ogħla kwalit'?.

Manoel Island / Tigne Point project

Key elements of the lease

Much has been said about the Manoel Island / Tigne Point project in recent years and even more so in recent weeks as the outline scheme plans were discussed and approved by the Planning Authority.

Securing the benefits of the project depends in part on having a fair and comprehensive lease which offers the required safeguards both for Government and for MIDI. This lease has been worked on by three successive Governments, with MIDI, always building positively on what was done before.

This lease has today been initialled by Government and by MIDI and will now be presented for Parliamentary approval. MIDI has committed itself to enter into the lease agreement once it has been approved by Parliament, and has provided a bank guarantee of Lm1 million as security for this commitment.

The lease agreement is a long and complex document. This paper summarises its key terms in point form, explaining the main objectives which these terms are seeking to secure.

1. A 99 year lease on Manoel Island (excluding the yacht repair yard) and on Tigne Point. Buyers of residential units will be permited to convert their title into one of perpetual emphyteusis.
2. The right to build, operate and/or sell the development contained in the outline schemes already approved unanimously by the Planning Authority, including residential, commercial, touristic, civil and sports facilities, car parks, a casino (from 2004 onwards) and a yacht marina.

   Exclusions and reversions

3. All areas of foreshore are excluded from the lease and are retained by Government.
4. MIDI will not be developing a private estate – instead, the general public will have access to all roads, parks, squares, beaches, restored buildings, etc., within the development. This development differs from the norm in that it will result in a significant increase in the volume of public areas available, apart from the betterment in their quality. To guarantee this public gain, the legal ownership of all public areas reverts to Government (free of charge) as each phase is completed. MIDI's title is effectively limited to the plots it will build and sell.
5. By the same token, people buying property at Manoel Island and Tigne Point will not be burdened by the cost of maintaining public areas used by the general public, and these will be maintained in the same manner as all other public areas. For this purpose, it is planned that Manoel Island will in due course form part of a local council area.

   What MIDI will be paying

6. Premiums and concession fees of Lm40.1 million comprising:
   1. Cash premiums of Lm25.6 million
   2. Public infrastructure works of Lm9 million on the two sites
   3. Restoration works of Lm5.5 million, mainly on Fort Manoel, Fort Tigne and the Lazaretto.
7. The obligation to reclaim land on the north of Manoel Island, for use by the yacht yard, the cost of which is estimated at circa Lm0.8 million.
8. A groundrent of Lm480,000 (abated in the initial years of the project, but not on any property developed and sold), rising to Lm840,000 in year 26 and to Lm960,000 in year 51. Taken in relation to the volume of the project, this means that an apartment with an internal area of 170 square metres will have a ground rent of Lm314.50 rising to Lm550.80 in year 26 and to Lm629 in year 51.
9. This ground rent will rise proportionately in future should approved plans change to increase the building volumes permitted on the project. Having said this, given the height restrictions imposed in the original Development Brief and given that all pubic areas will revert to Government, the scope for changes in volumes is extremely limited.

   Securing the finance for the project

10. Upon signing the lease, MIDI will provide Government with the following evidence of availability of initial finance of Lm33 million:
    1. Issued and paid up capital of Lm2.3 million, plus first class bank guarantees for further shareholder investment of Lm9.7 million, giving a total shareholder investment of Lm12 million as stipulated in the original letter of intent
    2. Confirmations from HSBC and from Bank of Valletta that they have each sanctioned facilities of Lm10.5 million.
11. This level of finance is considered adequate to launch the project in a strong manner, ensuring large initial phases as required by the lease. Subsequent phases will be developed in a controlled manner in line with the tempo of sales.

    Ensuring that the project is developed, and in an orderly manner

12. The key governing clause in the lease which secures Government's overall objectives is that MIDI can only sell what it develops. It cannot sell land, and in this respect its ownership rights are severely curtailed. Its returns from the project depend largely on the speed with which it can execute and sell the entire development.
13. This governing principle is combined with a number of supporting detailed clauses which bind the company:
    1. The development is divided into defined phase areas. The project must be executed phase area by phase area, and not in bits and pieces across the place. The first phase areas on both sites are large ones which contain all the key infrastructure works (trunk road at Tigne, dredging, new bridge, breakwater, land reclamation, heavy excavation), such that the inconvenience caused by the duration of such works is as much as possible contained.
    2. Work on phase 1, at Tigne Point, has to commence immediately and has to be completed within an established time frame. Shorter time frames have been set for certain structures within phase 1 which will revert back to Government to accommodate residents and sports associations who would temporarily have vacated the site.
    3. Once commenced, a phase area has to be completed within a defined time limit – normally one or two years longer than the actual anticipated period of build, allowing for delays and contingencies, but nevertheless a legal limit which, if exceeded, results in severe penalties and possible rescission. The lease thus guards against the possibility of having a half completed phase left unfinished.
    4. MIDI can invite partners to participate with it in a particular phase, but must in all instances retain control, to ensure that the many unitary aspects of the development, including its marketing, are not undermined.
    5. Infrastructure and restoration obligations are tied to particular phases, in each case ensuring that Government's legal privilege over a phase area is only released (thus permitting sales) when the related obligations – in cash, infrastructure and/or restoration works – are fulfilled. Each phase area contains a mix between developable land of benefit to MIDI and related obligations which entail a cost. In the case of the restoration of Fort Manoel, this balance is not possible, and here, therefore, the lease imposes set timeframes for the restoration of the fort. These have to be met irrespective of the pace of development and sales elsewhere in the project.

    Safeguarding the position of buyers

14. Care has been taken in the lease to ensure that a buyer of a property is left in no doubt on the obligations burdening the property which he or she is buying, such that the complexity of the lease and its long term obligations do not serve to impede sales. Buyers will find that once Government has lifted its privilege in respect of the property they are buying, the only remaining burden concerning them will be the ground rent, calculated at Lm1.85 per square meter of the internal usable floor space of a property.

    Government's obligations

15. Government's principal obligations in terms of the lease are as follows:
    1. To secure the vacant possession of Manoel Island, a process which is due to be completed by mid – 2001. Government has given commitments on this issue, which commitments are backed by agreements it has itself reached with other parties and by its powers in terms of law. Full vacant possession of Tigne point will be granted upon signing the lease, thus ensuring that the project could commence without delays.
    2. To secure the supply of utility services to the project, a commitment which Government has given after all the utilities concerned have confirmed that the needs of the project fall within existing or planned capacity constraints.
    3. To secure, after MIDI has complied with any other provisions of law, the operating licences required for the various planned components of the project (eg hotel, car parks, shops, restaurants, marina, casino, boat fuelling facility, etc).