The government-appointed board dealing with appeals against permits issued by the Planning Authority (PA) shot down an appeal filed against the controversial building of a Capitainerie in Ta’ Xbiex – an excuse for a restaurant designated for businessmen close to Prime Minister Robert Abela.

The Environment and Planning Review Tribunal (EPRT), led by Joseph Borg, rejected arguments against the permit made by a group of Ta’ Xbiex residents and the NGO Flimkien għal Ambjent Aħjar, giving Transport Malta the green light to continue with the ongoing development.

The appeals board insisted that it was not true that the permit issued in 2022 was not in line with the local plan for the area and emphasised that all measures had been taken by the project’s architect, Antoine Zammit, to minimise the visual impact that the restaurant and the Capitainerie will have on the area, including the Ta’ Xbiex Garden and views of Valletta and the fortifications.

The EPRT’s decision can now be challenged in the Court of Appeals, which has the final say.

Prime minister and Transport Malta mum

The Shift reported that while works on the restaurant’s construction started before the ongoing appeal was decided, Prime Minister Robert Abela moved his luxurious yacht from the Birgu marina to the one in Ta Xbiex, where Transport Malta is conducting the works.

Abela’s yacht at its new berth in Gardens Marina Ta’ Xbiex

Renamed the Gardens Marina, it is administered by a private company controlled by two brothers, Paul and Mark Gauci, from Birkirkara, better known as Tal-Gedida.

The brothers and their families are close friends of the prime minister and his wife. They regularly spend holidays together on their luxury yachts.

Robert Abela has repeatedly refused to state whether he is paying the estimated €15,000 annual fees for using the berth at his friends’ marina and present proof of payment. Questions sent by The Shift to the OPM were not answered.

At the same time, Transport Malta, which is responsible for the ongoing development, remained mum on clarifications requested regarding the ongoing works.

Kurt Farrugia, the former communications head for disgraced former prime minister Joseph Muscat, now appointed Transport Malta CEO, did not reply to questions on why the agency applied for the permit in its name and is listed as the owner of the development despite it being designated for the owners of the marina.

Transport Malta and its CEO are listed as responsible for the ongoing works in Ta’ Xbiex.

He said the private concessionaire would cover the development costs but did not explain how.

Official documents show that Kurt Farrugia and Transport Malta are responsible for the ongoing construction and that the architect, Antoine Zammit, is the same one who applied for the original permit on behalf of Transport Malta.

The ongoing building of the Capitainerie will mainly host a luxurious restaurant on the water’s edge, to be owned by the marina operators currently hosting the prime minister’s yacht.

Farrugia did not reply to questions on project costs and who was paying them, including the costs of the designs and Planning Authority permit, who chose B&B Construction of tal-Magħtab as contractors and whether it would be taxpayers or the marina operators who will be paying them.