A massive social housing development has ground to a halt amid a funding crisis at Malita Investments plc, the government-owned company responsible for delivering the project in Ħal Farruġ, Luqa, The Shift can reveal.
Contractors have reportedly suspended work after Malita failed to settle outstanding payments worth hundreds of thousands of euro. Sources familiar with the matter said the company is facing acute liquidity constraints and has run out of cash to finance ongoing works.
The stalled project, described by Housing Minister Roderick Galdes as the country’s “largest ever housing initiative”, underscores the growing financial strain on Malta’s state-backed infrastructure ventures.
Malita, which acts as the financial vehicle for several government social housing developments, is a publicly listed company on the Malta Stock Exchange. The state holds an 80% stake, with the remainder owned by private shareholders.
Because of its listed status, the government cannot directly inject fresh capital without breaching state aid rules, leaving the company in a complex financial and regulatory bind. The predicament has also raised concerns among minority shareholders about the security of their investments.

The €44 million Luqa development, comprising three apartment blocks with 267 housing units and several hundred garages, was partly financed through a €22 million loan from the European Investment Bank (EIB). Sources said the EIB has in recent months sought clarification over the use of its funds and the project’s governance.
The financial turbulence follows a period of internal instability at Malita.
Earlier this year, long-serving chief executive Jennifer Falzon resigned following tensions between the company’s then-chairperson, former Labour MEP Marlene Mizzi, and Minister Galdes. Falzon was swiftly replaced by architect Amanda Desira.
Sources close to the company said the problems stem from a mix of “internal mismanagement” and “political interference” from the Housing Ministry, which they claim has been closely involved in the company’s operational decisions.
Warning signs of Malita’s financial stress first emerged in August, when the company announced it would not distribute its annual dividend for the first time since its establishment. The decision drew anger from shareholders who had been promised a 7% annual return on their investment.
In a statement to the market, Malita cited project delays, cost overruns and higher cash-flow requirements as reasons for its decision, noting that it was reassessing its “funding requirements and strategic approach.”
The company added that it was in talks to secure new financing facilities specifically for the Luqa project, but was “not currently in a position to draw down on these facilities.”
The Shift is informed that Minister Galdes has been pressing for a direct government injection of funds to complete the project, but sources said the Finance Ministry is resisting such a move, arguing that it would amount to a state-funded bailout of a listed entity – a step that could set a risky precedent.
The Housing Minister did not respond to questions about the project’s suspension or its plans to address Malita’s financial shortfall.
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#roderick galdes
Ara ma jkunx hawn xi ċuċ li jara l-prezz ta’ Malita Investments fil-Borża ta’ Malta jinżel minħabba l-isfiduċja li tali azzjonijiet iġibu magħhom u jinvesti fiha għax jaħseb li issa prezz tajjeb bħala entry point bit-tama li fil-futur qrib il-prezz jisplodi ‘l fuq ħalli jbigħ u jagħmel xi sold qawwi għax falza stikka tkunlu!
Yes and we the contractors are bearing the brunt of all of this and have seen this coming since April, but the lack of honesty from Malita has now put us into financial difficulties for which no department wants to take responsibility..Minister Galdes has not returned my calls or messages since July 7. No shame and no accountability….
contractors never had it so good as since 2013
44 million for a block of flats come on. You contractors single handedly screwed up the entire country.
In this case it is the government which has screwed up the entire country by entrusting the project to contractors who have single handedly screwed up the entire country.
Every project is tainted with corruption . You can’t expect any better from a muvument corrupt.
Seems to be more and more of these. I wonder if there’s an itemised bill on where all the money has gone, as they’ve clearly not spent it on paying their contractors.
It also shows the dangers of these ridiculous huge concrete monstrosities. If they had built a bunch of smaller, better planned buildings around say a central green / park area, then maybe you’d have 100 useable houses by now, as opposed to a useless monstrosity that will lay empty and be an eyesore for years..
As usual there are no boundaries between Government and a company which is supposedly managed by a board of directors and under MFSA market rules. If government wants to pump more money the company can issue a rights issue which is not state aid.