Aqra bil-Malti

On the eve of the last general elections, Anton Camilleri, known as Tal-Franċiż, bought a public alley in St George’s Bay, valued by the Lands Authority at €3 million for just €134,000, The Shift can reveal.

A valuation report drawn up by three veteran architects, now the focus of an investigation by the National Audit Office (NAO) related to the Villa Rosa project, shows that the market price of the 620-square-metre alley in 2022 stood at €2,986,600.

The independent valuation, seen by The Shift, considered the area’s value and the alley’s potential if it were to be developed, as proposed in the controversial Villa Rosa development.

To the disbelief of senior Lands Authority officials, on the eve of the elections in March 2022, a tender was issued to sell this alley for just €134,000.

The alley (in red) was sold to Anton Camilleri for a fraction of its value.

The tender closed just two days before the elections. Anton Camilleri was awarded the tender at a fraction of its market value. Incidentally, he was the only bidder in the tender process.

The Lands Authority is controlled by CEO Robert Vella.

Tender made to measure

Investigations by The Shift show that the Lands Authority, the owner of the 106-metre-long alley that splits the Villa Rosa grounds in two, held various meetings with Anton Camilleri before the tender was issued. In most cases, CEO Robert Vella led the discussions.

These discussions led to an eventual call for tenders, specifically written to match Camilleri’s requirements.

In fact, instead of issuing the alley for an outright sale, as is standard practice, it was specified that “the passage cannot be obstructed with any structures up to the height of 5.5 metres from the ground.”

This meant that Tal-Franċiż could use the alley, giving him the right of passage to his massive project from the shoreline of St George’s Bay. He could even build above the public tunnel.

The tender and its specifications now under NAO investigation.

Why was the alley crucial?

The acquisition of the 5.5-metre-wide alley was crucial for Anton Camilleri’s project.

While the alley may seem insignificant compared to his project over 50,000 square metres of land, the alley splits his project as it runs through his proposed development. Without it, Camilleri could not link the two separate sides of his mega project.

Its acquisition completed his plans, which he later presented to the Planning Authority. The alley is now earmarked as an essential access point to his project.

The alley’s acquisition on the cheap is one of various ongoing manoeuvres by the government intended to benefit Anton Camilleri and his project.

The Shift already revealed how the prime minister, through a cabinet decision, instructed the Planning Authority to change the local plan to accommodate the Villa Rosa project so Camilleri could build his towers.

Anton Camilleri’s Garnet Investments Ltd is behind the Villa Rosa project in St George’s Bay.

According to the current local plan, Camilleri would not be able to get a permit for his towers, which would be up to 34 storeys and completely engulf St George’s Bay.

NGOs opposing this development accused the Planning Authority of copying the requirements laid down by Garnet Investments Ltd, the company owned by Tal-Franċiż, in the so-called ‘consultation’ process.

The Auditor General has started its investigation following a request by NGOs.

The Opposition has opposed the change in local plans for Villa Rosa and insisted that any amendments must be holistic and not intended to benefit a particular project. But it stopped short of taking a stand on Camilleri’s project.

Camilleri is known to be a donor to both political parties represented in parliament and politicians from both sides of the House.