Lands Authority CEO Robert Vella and his Minister Stefan Zrinzo Azzopardi are refusing to explain how a massive beach lido in Armier, owned by the government, has been acquired by a private Mellieha hotel company without any tender or parliamentary resolution..

The Palm Beach lido at the water’s edge in Armier has operated through a government concession for many years. The authorities refuse to confirm the transfer to third parties, which would be illegal.

Although the lido is government property and cannot be sold, G3 Group, involving the owners of hotels in Mellieha – Solana and Pergola – announced the acquisition for some €2 million last month.

Lands Authority CEO Robert Vella did not reply to questions for an explanation of how this transfer could have occurred without the necessary legal procedure being followed. This is not the first case of controversial transfers of public land by the Authority under Vella’s leadership.

Lands Authority CEO Robert Vella.

The minister responsible for the Lands Authority, Stefan Zrinzo Azzopardi, as well as the owners of the private hotel group that announced they had acquired the lido also refused to provide answers.

Questions sent to G3’s managing director, Daniel Grima, to confirm the news and state when and how they acquired the public property remained unanswered despite reminders.

The lido concession

Investigations by The Shift found that the Palm Beach Resort lido, as it is now being called, was given to VSV Ltd, a company owned by Vincent and Sarah Vella from Mellieha, that has now been struck off. Vella is also the owner of Adventure Camping and Leisure Ltd.

Through a 2005 government concession, the Vellas were given the lido to run for 50 years and pay an annual rent of €16,560, to be revised every five years.

The concession contract, seen by The Shift, clearly states that the property remains government-owned and that the Vellas could not transfer the concession without the written consent of the government, let alone sell it.

The lido was already in the news a few years ago when Rabat-based businessman Dominic Micallef, through Signature Entertainment, declared that he had acquired three public lidos in the area –  Palm Beach, Baia Beach and Ray’s Lido – to launch Malta’s first Buddha Bar.

Illegal work started on Baia Beach, which was stopped halfway when Micallef, who used to own Rabat’s Tattingers club, ran into financial difficulties.

Even then, Lands Authority chief Robert Vella refused to confirm whether the government had consented to these transfers.

According to law, the only ways the government can sell public property are by tender or through a parliamentary resolution, neither of which has happened.