Planning Authority to spend close to €1 million on temporary offices

The Planning Authority is set to spend close to €1 million on renting temporary office space and refurbishing part of its current headquarters in Floriana.

A tender was awarded just days before the removal of CEO Oliver Magro. It went to MCB Property Company Ltd, a spinoff of Malta Properties Company Ltd, whose shareholders are also connected to the national communications giant GO.

The Planning Authority will pay €849,000 to rent 1,500 square meters of office space, allowing for the relocation of 100 employees for three years.

The Planning Authority seems uncertain about the timeline for the refurbishment project of its headquarters at St Francis Revelin in Floriana. As a precaution, the tender permits the Authority to extend the rental agreement for an additional two years at extra cost if needed.

The Planning Authority did not reply to questions about the location of the new offices or the refurbishment costs.

Although the tender adjudication is not final and may still be contested by other bidders, it’s noteworthy that the selected bidder did not present the cheapest offer.

Two other bidders, Avenue 77, based in Mrieħel, and Toncam Properties, owned by developer Anton Camilleri (also known as Tal-Franċiż), submitted cheaper proposals.

The tender specified that the Planning Authority would only consider properties within a 12-kilometre radius of its existing headquarters in Floriana.

A permit for the refurbishment of its offices—including the Grade 1 buildings known as ‘the enforcement and link blocks’—was issued in 2023.