Ta’ Xbiex Marina shareholders fail to explain waterfront restaurant project

The chairman of Gardens Marina Ltd, Matthew Fiorini Lowell, is refusing to explain how the company acquired a restaurant at the water’s edge as part of a 25-year government concession.

The Shift has been asking the company’s management to explain how a bar initially permitted as part of the project pushed forward by Transport Malta has turned into a fully-fledged restaurant that the company will manage on the Ta’ Xbiex waterfront.

Additionally, they are not clarifying why the project, which, according to the concession agreement, was supposed to be financed by their company, is currently listed with Transport Malta as its developer and owner.

According to a 25-year concession agreement signed by Transport Malta in 2020, Gardens Marina Ltd was obliged to make substantial investments in the marina to upgrade its facilities and manage them for 25 years.

The concession allowed the company to build a small office for administration, which included a small bar and a shop, in addition to investing in seaside yachting facilities.

However, a controversial permit issued by the Planning Authority in 2022, which is now being contested in court by neighbours, has allowed the “small administration office” to be developed into a large waterside restaurant with extensive outdoor dining areas.

Once operational, the restaurant is expected to generate significant revenue for the concessionaires.

The Shift has reported that despite the restaurant project being owned by private shareholders, Transport Malta filed and obtained the necessary designs and permits for it.

CEO Kurt Farrugia has denied that Transport Malta is using public funds to finance the construction. However, he did not clarify why official documents refer to him as the owner.

The Shift reached out to the company’s chairman and his key partner, Paul Gauci, better known as Tal-Gedida, seeking explanations and asking whether they were responsible for funding the ongoing construction project. They did not respond.

They were also asked to provide proof that they paid for the designs created by architect Antoine Zammit, the permit fees, and all current construction expenses.

Gardens Marina Ltd consists of three separate shareholding companies. Chairman Fiorini Lowell is the primary investor through his shares in F.L. Yachting Ltd and Intermanagement Ltd.

Other partners include Paul Manduca, Shanna Buhagiar, Patrick and Rebekah Satariano. Gauci Estates holds an additional third of the shares through siblings Paul, Mark, and Roberta.

In November, a group of neighbours opposed to the project, along with the NGO Flimkien ghal Ambjent Aħjar, filed a legal request to revoke Transport Malta’s permit, arguing that it was issued unlawfully and contrary to policy and the local plan for the area.

Despite the ongoing legal proceedings, the developers began construction in time to complete and open the restaurant by next summer.