Developers Lobby Insists Construction Is Not The Enemy, Calls For Better For ‘Environmental Laws and Policies’
The construction industry should not be made into a scapegoat for people’s discontent, the Malta Developers Association has said in a reaction to remarks yesterday by Finance Minister Clyde Caruana.
Addressing a pre-budget public consultation, Caruana said that Malta needed to start shifting away from its dependence on the construction industry, noting that people had had enough of concrete and cranes.
“The Malta Developers Association notes the statement made by the Finance Minister, that the Maltese economy must move away from construction. The reason given was that the people are feeling that open spaces and the environment are being threatened,” MDA Director General Deborah Schembri said in response this afternoon.
She said that while the MDA shared this sentiment, it felt that the solution was not for “an enemy to be made out of the construction industry”.
“What is needed is for the economy to embrace laws and policies that are more environmentally friendly, both when it comes to the natural environment and the urban environment,” Schembri said.
In his speech, Caruana said that the upcoming budget would include the first measures aimed at starting this shift, but according to the MDA, all investors want are clear laws, certainty and less bureaucracy.
They were also more than willing to take on the challenges imposed on them by an economy that prioritises environmental protection and strategic and sustainable development.
This, she said, would result in minimal economic disruption and would ensure that the livelihoods of the 40,000 families that depend on the construction industry are safeguarded.
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