Marsa racetrack concessionaires defend progress despite missed investment deadlines

The private consortium entrusted with redeveloping Malta’s ageing Marsa horse racetrack has insisted it is “delivering” on its obligations, despite failing to meet a series of deadlines tied to a €30 million investment pledged in 2017.

Marsa Racetrack Ltd, granted a long-term concession under the administration of disgraced former prime minister Joseph Muscat, acknowledged it had yet to realise the sweeping transformation originally promised.

The project was meant to produce an international-standard racing complex by 2023, including new grandstands, stables, a polo field, expanded training facilities and a modernised clubhouse.

In comments to The Shift, the company insisted that progress had nonetheless been made, attributing the delays to protracted procedures by the Planning Authority.

The defence comes days after Prime Minister Robert Abela toured the site, declaring that horse enthusiasts would benefit from a revamped “international-standard” track and praising the government for “delivering on its 2017 commitment”.

His remarks drew scepticism from several horse owners, who noted that the works were being carried out by a private operator and complained that delays, including on the main track upgrade, had disrupted the start of the racing season.

A spokesman for Marsa Racetrack Ltd said a new track, designed by Swedish and Maltese architects, had been completed over the summer.

He highlighted underground infrastructure upgrades, including drainage networks connected to three new water reservoirs, as well as the introduction of an inner track and a widened main track with a newly built safety lane. LED lighting and safety improvements for the training track had also been installed, he said.

However, the more ambitious elements of the 2017 concession remain largely untouched.

The planned polo pitch, clubhouse, car park, administrative offices, dressage facilities and grandstand are still at the design stage, with the company again blaming pending permit approvals.

A development application filed in 2019 was withdrawn just hours before it was expected to be refused for being incomplete. The application had been submitted by architect Edwin Mintoff on behalf of the company.

The concessionaire declined to say how much it had invested to date.

The consortium behind Marsa Racetrack Ltd includes figures such as Hugh Morshead, vice-chair of citizenship-by-investment firm Henley & Partners, and road contractors F. Schembri & Sons, widely known in the industry as ‘tad-Dobbu‘.

Despite repeated assurances since 2017, horse owners say they have seen little beyond routine maintenance and the current track refurbishment, a project which, though nearing completion, falls far short of the comprehensive redevelopment once promised.