Government fast-tracks major developers’ plans for Fort Chambray

The new group behind plans to develop Fort Chambray, increasing the footprint with more apartments and a hotel, are set to get approval from the Planning Authority.

The new owners will build 105 new apartments, extending the built-up footprint allowed by 3,500 square metres.

Regulators, such as the Environment and Resources Authority, did not even request an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA).

The concession for Fort Chambray is currently in the hands of Michael Caruana, the Gozitan owner of Hotel Calypso, known as il-Billi.

The project has been delayed for years. Apart from building apartments, the restoration of Fort Chambray never moved forward, apparently due to a lack of funds.

When the proposed permit is approved, Caruana can sign its transfer to a group of businessmen, mostly developers, who will invest in the project. But the investment came with demands of additional apartments and a hotel.

The plans presented exceed the development’s original footprint than initially envisaged in the area’s masterplan, drawn up several years ago.

They are also proposing to build a new five-star luxury hotel, with parts of it going up to five floors, two more than allowed in the master plan.

Through the new permit, the government will also allow developers to dismantle the only British Barracks in Gozo.

The project will create a significant visual impact from various viewpoints in Gozo and Malta, further engulfing the original historic fortifications surrounding the Knights-era Fort.

The Fort’s new owners

So far, Michael Caruana owns the concession and is leading the application.

However, the proposed development is the work of a group of developers and businessmen who have come together on the Fort’s development.

Il-Billi needed more funds to continue developing the concession and missed targets in the contract.

Instead of re-possessing the Fort, the government, with the consent of the PN opposition, agreed to allow Caruana to transfer the public concession.

The new owners are Francesco Grima, known as il-Gigu, and a close friend of Planning Authority and Gozo Minister Clint Camilleri; Vince Borg of road construction contractors V&C, better known as Censu n-Nizz; Ninu Fenech and his sons from TUM Invest; Oliver Brownrigg of the BT Group; and Mario Gauci of Burmarrad Commercials.

Together, they set up BBT Gozo Fort Ltd.

A never-ending project

The Knights of St John built Fort Chambray in the early 1700s as a part of Gozo’s defence fortifications.

It served as a mental health institution in the 1960s and 1970s before being passed to the Zammit Tabona family by a Labour government ahead of the 1987 elections.

After the Nationalist Party came to power, Fort Chambray Ltd, a Monaco-registered company, was given the site in a 99-year concession. However, the project never got off the ground due to insufficient funds.

Paul Abela, now involved in the beleaguered Mediterranean Maritime Hub concession now facing massive financial difficulties, was also involved in the original concession.

In 2004, the government handed the project to Caruana, who transformed parts of the site into luxury apartments but left large swathes of the site unfinished.